With the job market feeling more competitive and inaccessible than ever, young applicants are sharing the various hoops potential employers are expecting them to jump through in order to be considered for a seat at the table. Now, ironically enough, TikToker Amber (@ambermunyo) is using the platform’s own video-sharing app to call them out for how they treated her during a lengthy application process.
In the video, which is entitled ‘Bad interview experiences,’ Amber explains how she was offered a job at TikTok in the past but turned it down because she didn’t feel ready. However, it was when she reapplied to work at the company sometime later that the trouble began.
“I started interviewing in early December, and after that interview, I didn’t hear anything back from them for weeks,” she says. “Once I finally heard back, it was towards the end of January, when they asked me to do second-round interviews. And it’s like three or four interviews back-to-back in one day. So the day of those interviews come and literally, nobody shows. Everybody that was supposed to be in the Zoom literally didn’t show up. I was sitting at my computer for fucking three hours waiting for people to show up.”
According to Amber, she didn’t hear from the recruiter for two days — the email she tried to send them bounced back — before they then rearranged the second-stage interviews.
“One of my interviews gets canceled literally right before it’s supposed to start and they’re like, ‘Oh, you just don’t have to do this one anymore, like disregard it.’” she recalls.
During one of the interviews Amber did attend, she recalls how she asked her interviewer whether they’d recommend the job to a family member or friend, to which the interviewer replied that they would because they referred a friend to the exact position Amber was interviewing for.
“So I’m like, ‘OK cool, so I’m not gonna get the fucking job,’” she adds.”Like, why would you say that?”
According to Amber, she was “rushed” to do a final-stage interview with a hiring manager the next day, but was then ignored until mid-February when the recruiter asked them to do another final-stage interview that same day. After that interview, Amber says she was once again “ghosted” despite sending follow-ups before receiving a rejection email in March.
“So, it took three months to reject me,” she says.
@ambernunyo Im exhausted of the tech industry’s ridiculous hoops you have to jump thru just to get rejected. Also, if you referred your friend to the job I’m interviewing for, just keep it to yourself??? #techindustry #techlayoffs #latinasintech #interviewstory #techinterviews #unemployment #tiktokinterview #latinasinstem #rejectionletter #unprofessional #jobreferral ♬ original sound – A M B E R 🌙✨
Amid the claims that have emerged around TikTok’s working culture as of late, some commenters suggested that Amber had a lucky escape, with one user noting, “TikTok is known for one of the worst working environments. Run as fast as you can.”
Several others noted that the interview process itself was a “red flag,” with another user said that “the market is so competitive right now with top talent all looking for jobs, so companies are taking advantage.”
With the current state of the job market, a further commenter advised that candidates should “set boundaries” with recruiters.
“This is becoming really common and that’s why I set boundaries with the recruiter/hiring manager,” she wrote. “Three max interviews or two [interviews] with one basic project.”
Amber and TikTok’s PR department didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comments via email.
