HarperCollins Reviews

Pros

People were great, very helpful

Cons

No pay so hard to live in nyc

Advice to Senior Management

Please reimburse interns for travel. Very hard to work for free and live in NYC.

Pros

Free books, Congenial fellow entry-levels who are eager to help, Summer Fridays

Cons

HC has the lowest entry-level pay in the industry, meaning unless you're being subsidized by a fairy (god)parent, take advantage of the book parties, launch & planning meetings, author toasts, writer conferences, etc. Take advantage even if you are; they're excellent opportunities to network across departments and industries.

Practice brown nosing. Otherwise, you'll be assigned three times as much work and/or watch sycophants with less seniority and work ethic outpace you--and then, to be told by management that you should be grateful that you even have a job. Doing a great job is not what matters at HC. Management's attitude is that everyone is expendable. Stay at HC only as long as it takes to pad your resume and learn the ropes. Go digital for more staying power. The company is more interested in hiring new staff for the digital initiatives they're constantly announcing than investing in current employees.

Your managers will range from hands-free to micromanaging. There is a severe disconnect in some departments about the rest of the company; network across departments so you know what's going on in the rest of the company. HR is not here for the employees. The review process, not unlike HR management, changes annually and is a long-standing joke.

Working at HC is a learning experience, but don't forget to keep your escape hatch in sight.

Advice to Senior Management

Encourage managers: to share useful big-picture information with junior employees and support a more open culture where employees are encouraged to be engaged; not to treat juniors like replaceable robots; to better manage workloads so that they are less uneven; to recognize good, hard work; and to play favorites less flagrantly.

Pros

Experience for entry level. Free books.

Cons

I concur with many of the other posts regarding the lack of mentorship, recognition for good work, and lack of promotion unless you are “in” with one of the higher-ups. It's all politics here; be ready to be stabbed in the back.

Some general statements: as far as books go, they have moved more and more toward celebrity books and right wing politics. If you look at all the truly interesting writers and books out there – they are not at Harper. They talk and talk about the digital age. Constantly announcing new initiatives and hiring new people. But they haven't updated the website in years. They are not adapting well to the digital age.

Do not expect to be treated like a professional here. If you can't play the politics, you are screwed. HR is not there to help employees, only to tow the corporate line. There are some decent people that work here. But abusive managers are accepted and often promoted. If you want to be respected for your work and as a person – do not work at HarperCollins.

Advice to Senior Management

Think hard about the work environment you've created.

Pros

Great Benefits package
Relaxed/ laid back work atmosphere--no one breathing over your shoulder to get things done. My managers had confidence in my ability to perform the job I was hired to do so every task was not micro-managed.

Cons

Horrible salary
During the layoffs I was removed from my original department and placed in another which was a demotion of sorts since it took me off of the career path I intended on. I soon found another opportunity at another publishing house which was a promotion from my original position.

Advice to Senior Management

Please review salaries.

Pros

It is a very laid back environment and casual. They really let you have a great life work balance. It is predominately women except for upper management and the finance departments. There are also summer Friday hours.

Cons

lack of career growth. Not competitive with pay.

Advice to Senior Management

keep it up.

Pros

good place to start out

Cons

unhelpful managers, depressing work environment

Advice to Senior Management

value your employees more

Pros

Great benefits package and fairly accommodating attitude towards time off, half-day Fridays in summer, lots of talented people who create terrific books.

Cons

Hard to reconcile personal political opinions with the shame of being associated with Fox "News" and the Murdoch empire. Although there is some amazing talent within the company, it's not a place where one finds a lot of support or encouragement from upper management. Lots of favoritism, "managing up" rather than mentoring, and a corporate attitude that thinks it's okay and expected to work everyone to a frazzle in pursuit of larger and larger profits. HR is the last place you'd go for help unless you're a manager, no safety there for the average worker bee.

Advice to Senior Management

Be visible and engaged with your staff. Create a work environment within your department where everyone is comfortable speaking up, regular staff meetings are held and not cancelled for something "more important," reviews are prepared thoughtfully and on time, and your employees know that you consider managing the department a key responsibility. Information needs to be shared, not disseminated to a select few.

Pros

One of the top U.S. publishers. Decent title list. Working on improving their digital presence as most publishers probably are. Probably an ok place to get your start if you're interested in working in the industry.

Cons

Coming up with pros was obviously a struggle. Pay and benefits are at best comparable to other publishers, but I know are below that offered by several of the other New York publishers. Disconnect between regular employees and management. They don't seem particularly interested in developing their employees. A certain level of self-sufficiency is understandable, but direction is still needed. Doesn't seem to matter to them though. The political issues that others have noted is believable, but I haven't seen too much of it myself. Advancement either requires being here forever or moving on to another company.

Advice to Senior Management

Definitely need to work on developing the talent in house. Junior employees shouldn't just be treated like your assistants. If you work with them and provide better training, they'll be more useful and things will actually get accomplished. Also wouldn't hurt if there was more cooperation across departments.

Pros

A solid reputation of great titles and an instantly recognizable company name. A large female employee network (though I guess its standard in the industry)

Cons

Same issues as other large institutions. Progress at work with initiatives can sometimes be slow moving and inefficient. Promotions come perhaps less due to actual work performance but more when an opening is available and you've paid your dues.

Advice to Senior Management

Encourage more dynamic work across teams as sometimes leaders and supervisors are very independent in their efforts. Establishing a voluntary mentorship network perhaps?

Pros

There are good opportunities if you are willing to work [very] hard. Many great coworkers who love books. Excellent benefits.

Cons

Currently very understaffed with very uneven workloads. Often poor communication from management. Some rules don't seem to apply to everyone.

Advice to Senior Management

Remember that the people who are working the hardest for you have barely seen raises over the past 2 years. Show some appreciation!