HarperCollins Reviews

Cons

Not many cons, since I was only in a temp capacity.

Cons

Difficult commute for people who live north of NYC.

Cons

Very large company with a lot of decision makers and layers of management to work through. Innovation is often secondary to risk-aversion.

Cons

It's hard to think of any

Cons

Restructures creating some layoffs a few years ago. Replacements not hired and remaining employees expected to pick up the workload.

Cons

Big issues with pay parity across similar roles with similar work experiences. I found out I was making over 40% less than my male counterpart and Human Resources actively prevented my manager and I from raising my salary claiming I was at market rate.

Huge pay differences between junior and senior staff. The best way to make market rate here is negotiating hard when you join the company. Additionally, pay at the other publishers is generally higher than at HarperCollins.

Even though the company is vastly female there is not much female leadership. You will see the same older, white, males at the c-level. HarperCollins UK released a gender gap report which confirmed a pay gap between males and females.

There have been a couple restructurings and there was not transparency or communication from anyone so the fear of job security was in question for a lot of people.

They increased the level of vacation time but now, time is accrued monthly and days can no longer be rolled over.

Some teams are expected to be available on email after working hours.

Cons

To be honest it is hard to think of any

Cons

Pay is low and project budgets stingy.

Owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Introverted, cliquey office culture conflicts with open office plan that turns employees into props to show off when trotting authors around.

Cons

general book publishing issues (slow to advance, top-heavy, not enough support)

Cons

Salaries are low even by industry standards. You'll tell yourself you're passionate about books and it's just to get a foot into the industry, but it's hard to move between publishing companies and chances are you'll be here long enough to get a really good sense of how little respect upper management has for you.

You will work almost every evening and weekend and you will not be paid for it. Your commitment to your job will be constantly questioned. You'll be discouraged from even requesting overtime on the basis that doing so could prevent you from getting promoted. HR is aware that their entry-level employees are being overworked and that OT rules are abused. Do not work here if you want any semblance of a life outside the office.

Finally, it's a catty, stressful place to work, and there's a chronic morale problem. It's not uncommon to see people crying in the office. I could say much more but I don't want to waste any more time on this company than I already have.