TikTok creator @deniztalks says he lost a new sales job after refusing to delete his TikTok account, which has nearly 535,000 followers. In a video that received more than 2.4 million views and 2,400 comments, Deniz described being forced to choose between keeping his social media presence and pursuing his new career.
Deniz began the video by telling his followers that they were essentially the reason he lost the job after he refused to delete his TikTok account. He pointed out that many of those same followers had told him he wouldn’t last more than a month in the position.
@deniztalks Unemployed again ?? #deniz #london #unemployed #job
♬ original sound - Deniz
“I had to choose between the audience, who was telling me, ‘You wouldn’t last one month’ … or a professional career,” he said. According to Deniz, one of his followers had commented that he wouldn’t last a month at his new job. After losing the position, he sarcastically congratulated the commenter for apparently predicting what would happen.
“My enemy succeeded. Clap! Clap! Clap! The people I picked, they succeeded! FOLLOW ME THEN! FOLLOW ME! I picked you over a professional career!” Deniz said.
Deniz Says HR Made Him Choose Between His TikTok and the Job
Deniz explained that the hiring process initially appeared to be going well. He said the employers spoke positively with him during the interview and that there were no initial concerns about his candidacy.
However, he said an HR manager later told him that although he was considered a strong candidate and would have been a good fit for the position, his TikTok account would have to go.
Deniz said the HR manager described him as “a liability.” When he asked what that meant for his employment, he said the HR representative responded, “You don’t have the job.”
According to Deniz, he was effectively given an ultimatum: Delete his TikTok account or walk away from the position.
Ultimately, Deniz said he chose to keep his TikTok account and continue creating content for his followers rather than accept the job on those terms. Although he said he was disappointed about losing the opportunity, he maintained that he did not regret his decision and would continue looking for work.
Reactions to the video from the commenters focused mainly on the fact that having a TikTok, or any social media account, should not prevent a person from working in the corporate space. Others attributed the loss of the opportunity to "evil eye" and advised him not to post his moves online.
One commenter said they would quicker buy a car is Deniz was the car salesman. They wrote, "Liability for selling cars? I'm more likely to buy a car if Deniz is selling it to me."
Another commenter said that the company had no right to fire him because of his TikTok page. They wrote, "To be honest, you having a TikTok should not prevent you from working in any corporate space. That's out of order that they fired you over that . . . In reality you can post what you want on social media as long as you don't bad mouth your company."
A separate commenter said the "evil eye" of the commenters that said he wouldn't last a month at the job was to blame. They wrote, "Evil eye bro trust me. Never mention anything."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify Deniz’s account of the hiring process or the reason his job offer was withdrawn. The details of the alleged ultimatum are based solely on @deniztalks’ account in his TikTok video.
