From accountant to global marketing head at TikTok: three career tips

Executive overview

Most people know what they want but don't move toward it. Kazi Chikumbu went from accounting in Zimbabwe to global head of creative marketing at TikTok by following three principles: find your why, take a step, build a network.

Your why is the engine — without it, every action is guesswork.

Finding your why

• Your why must be intrinsically driven, not shaped by parents, peers, or fear
• If you don't know your why, seek inputs: new music, books, travel, unfamiliar perspectives
• Creating online content revealed Kazi's why: using digital creativity to help people live authentic lives
• A strong why extends beyond yourself — it connects to people and humanity

Taking action to break in

• You don't need all the steps; you just need to take one step
• Research the target company deeply — become a real user of their product
• Cold outreach works if it's short, specific, and offers value
• Create a proposal or presentation to demonstrate genuine passion when no role exists
• Weak network ties — not close friends — often unlock the actual opportunity
• Share your goals publicly; you don't know who is watching

Acing the interview

• Research: read three to five years of company news, find former employees, study competitors
• Rehearse out loud — muscle memory builds confidence, not memorisation
• Use the STAR framework (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure any answer
• For "tell me about yourself": cover background, past experience, excitement about the company and role — then stop
• Interviews are conversations; treat them as give-and-take, not performance

Thriving once you're in

• Imposter syndrome is normal; don't lean into it — if you passed the interview, you earned the role
• Network broadly: peers, bosses, adjacent industry contacts — more connections is better
• Weak ties carry opportunities; not everyone needs to be a close friend
• Build connections organically: comment on achievements, offer genuine help
• To attract a mentor, create a give-and-take relationship — don't ask directly, let it develop