Clinton Lo-Lau’s Journey from UConn to TikTok

Clinton Lo-Lau ’10 (CLAS) recently took up a new position as Human Resources Project Management Officer at TikTok, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. He previously worked for PepsiCo abroad. in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Geneva, Switzerland. Lo-Lau explains how his CLAS degree laid the foundation for his career. He also describes how his experiences at UConn as a first generation college student made him who he is today.

Can you describe your work at TikTok?
I work with human resources (HR) teams across the company and with executives to attract top talent and build a diverse, inclusive and engaged culture. This could be using data to tell a story about what talent priorities we should focus on as a team. It could also be managing projects that aim to address some of the focus areas of our people strategy. Each day gives me unique problems to solve and the opportunity to work with a global team!

How was your way into HR?
I was a first generation college student so I didn’t really have any advice from my parents about a career path. I started out as “undecided” and ended up going to engineering because I thought I was good at numbers. Ultimately, I found that it wasn’t a good fit and that I wanted a field that included more interaction with people. I did a little soul searching and wondered what subject I really enjoyed, and it was psychology.

I did my senior year really hands-on. I observed that a large percentage of college students graduated in psychology and that I had to be different from my fellow students if I were to get a job in a company where I could apply my degree. After researching courses of study and internship statistics, I decided on a master’s degree in work / organizational psychology in order to set myself apart.

Later in my career, I came across HR Analytics. It seemed like the perfect harmony of my psychology, people, and data interests. This has become my niche competence and also my differentiator. Back then it was rare to find HR professionals who were also analytical and could tell stories with data.

What do you like about working for TikTok?
TikTok is at the forefront of culture right now and it’s evolving so quickly. There are a ton of opportunities to build and I enjoy being a part of it. TikTok’s mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy, which appeals to me very much. The platform enables you to be yourself and to find “your people” all over the world. I think this aspect should be carried over to our work in human resources; the ability to come to work and get involved. I don’t just want to build this culture in the app, but also in the workplace.

Before joining TikTok, you worked for PepsiCo overseas. How was it?
It was unlike anything I’d done in my life before. Working abroad with people from different cultures is truly a humbling experience. You learn that your own culture or way of thinking does not always lead to the best solution. I had to learn to accept new situations and challenges and to adapt to them. Working in Dubai was particularly exciting because we represented around 50 nationalities in one office.

How did your CLAS degree prepare you for your career?
I remember visiting college campuses in high school and not understanding what a humanities and science degree was. A professor said it was about building a foundation. It wasn’t until a few years after graduation that I would fully understand what he was talking about. A CLAS degree does not prepare you for any particular role at Corporation XYZ. What it does, however, is expose you to different areas of study which, in turn, give you different frameworks that you can take advantage of as you approach new problems or situations. I definitely haven’t made any direct connections from a work problem to a problem I’ve solved in calculus or an excerpt from psychology. However, I am confident that the collection of concepts with which I emerged from CLAS has broadened my thinking and enabled me to approach work topics more creatively.

Is there a professor who played a central role in your training?
[Emeritus Professor] David Miller, who taught Introduction to Psychology, gave a talk on CLAS at an open house that really impressed me. Although I never attended any of his courses, this open house session laid the foundation for me to study psychology. I have attended many courses with Professor Janet Barnes-Farrell, and I loved them all and they confirmed to me that I wanted to get into the field of work / organizational psychology. I also had some great mentors and advisors along the way.

You never know exactly how much impact an interaction (even if it may seem insignificant) will have on your career path. So, as a Husky alumni mentor, I try to pass on a little of the goodwill that I’ve received. It is important to me to take half an hour of my day to speak to current students, and if our conversation helps them even a little, then it is a win to me.

Lo-Lau represented the Asian American Cultural Center at the 2009 UConn Homecoming Court (left) and the 2008 Lip Sync competition in the Gampel Pavilion. He also helped found the first fraternity with Asian interests on the Storrs campus. (Courtesy photo by Clinton Lo-Lau)

What’s the most important skill you’ve learned outside of the classroom at UConn?
Participating is the best you can do. The personal development I have received from UConn and the resources are second to none. As an employee, I worked intensively on the Asian American Cultural Center (AsACC). I wouldn’t be here without the cultural centers and the love, education, and support I’ve received [AsACC director] Angela Rola and Sheila Kucko. The center provided a safe environment to be myself and develop as a person, and it led to all of these crazy opportunities that have made me who I am today. People begin at different points in their journey to find out who they are and the history of their heritage. That was a really positive part of my experience.

What would you say to a student starting their career?
Everyone has their own motives and goals. As a second generation Chinese American growing up in a single household, I saw my mother work hard and sometimes fight. Finding a job that interested me and enabled me to feel fulfilled was of course a focus, but I also wanted to make money. In a way, I’m happy to have found some level of harmony between the two.

I share this because there is no one-size-fits-all approach. I would advise students to think about what is important to them, find a way to achieve what is essential, and be willing to compromise. Think about the job you are aiming for after graduation. Take a look at the placement statistics and starting salaries for graduate programs. Take a look at what your co-workers did. Check out what alumni are doing on LinkedIn and get in touch. I wrote coldly to tons of alumni. You can learn tips and tricks from people that you can eventually incorporate into your own career path.

Finally grind, grind, grind. It’s easy to get discouraged if you apply for 5, 10, or 20 positions and get turned down. The truth is there are so many people in this world. You might be the best candidate, and you might not even make it through some of the algorithms that companies have. Sometimes it’s not just a question of qualifications, but a numbers game in which volume and perseverance can help you break through into your dream job.

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