Penguin Random House Reviews
71% would recommend to a friend
(597 total reviews)
Nihar Malaviya
58% approve of CEO
Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "The pay is very low for the quantity and quality of work being done and promotions are almost non" (in 95 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of Penguin Random House and is not affected by filters.
Filter Reviews by Topic
Found 597 of over 1K reviews
Updated Dec 4, 2023
- Popular
- Most Recent
- Highest Rating
- Lowest Rating
- 5.0Nov 4, 2023Senior Sales AssociateCurrent EmployeeNew York, NY
Pros
Great people, great benefits, and a wonderful atmosphere
Cons
Still need to work on increasing salaries and offering more promotions
- 2.0Oct 5, 2023Associate Production ManagerFormer Employee, more than 3 yearsNew York, NY
Pros
The benefits are unbelievable. Nearly two months of combined PTO, $1500 annual company contribution to the HSA, over four months parental leave at 100% pay... it's unmatched.
Cons
Pay. After four years, a promotion, and three across-the-board pay band adjustments to keep pace with the industry, I left PRH having reached the lofty heights of making $55,000/year, pre-tax. This is an unlivable wage for anyone who doesn't come from money or who's not partnered with a higher earner, especially in NYC since they're now "encouraging" a return to office. Even before the actions of Markus Dohle and Madeline McIntosh plunged PRH into a storm of VSOs, layoffs, and 2% "COL" (lol) raises, the pay structure and raise procedure was utterly broken and impossible for most to navigate. It's also just quietly implied that you should work until your work is done, whether or not you're salaried or hourly, regardless of how short-staffed your department is or low long the title list grows. This, combined with the practice in my department of individuals not being considered "ready" for a promotion until they're already trained on and doing the 'next step' work for a good long while at their current title and pay grade, meant that basically everyone was underwater and underpaid.
7 - 3.0Nov 12, 2023Royalty AnalystFormer Employee, more than 5 yearsNew York, NY
Pros
You get to work with Good people and management
Cons
Not much room to grow.
- 3.0Nov 5, 2023Vice PresidentCurrent Employee, more than 10 yearsNew York, NY
Pros
Industry leading publisher with great benefits
Cons
New leadership lacks strategic vision, morale is low
1 - 2.0Nov 2, 2023Publicity AssistantFormer Employee, more than 1 yearNew York, NY
Pros
"Free" books are definitely the biggest perk. Health insurance is nice too.
Cons
The pay is way too low for NYC.
1 - 4.0Oct 25, 2023Publicity AssistantFormer Employee, more than 1 yearNew York, NY
Pros
Really amazing benefits (good PTO, allowances, insurance) and a generally incredible team of people - very passionate about what they do and in it for the long haul.
Cons
The annual salary is lower than preferred.
- 2.0Sep 21, 2023Marketing AssociateCurrent Employee, less than 1 yearNew York, NY
Pros
Work life balance is good Free books Solid benefits People are generally nice
Cons
Getting promoted is almost impossible There's a revolving door of lower level employees and CEO's don't seem to care about them at all It's frustrating hearing about a growth mindset when junior employees can barely affor to pay their rent
4 - 2.0Aug 29, 2023Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, more than 5 yearsNew York, NY
Pros
Remote work, decent benefits, opportunities to work on great books, nice colleagues, and good work/life balance in my division.
Cons
The pay is very low for the quantity and quality of work being done and promotions are almost non-existent. The lack of clear and objective performance expectations creates an exploitative environment where a promotion/raise is always (in)conveniently just out of reach. The problematic and surprisingly political management seems unable or unwilling to fix this.
2 - 3.0Oct 29, 2023Concur AuditorFormer Employee, more than 1 yearWestminister, MD
Pros
Work from home type of job (Flexible)
Cons
The manager Kinda mean and all that
- 4.0Oct 25, 2023EditorFormer EmployeeNew York, NY
Pros
Interesting people to work with
Cons
Not a very high paying field
Penguin Random House Reviews FAQs
Penguin Random House has an overall rating of 3.7 out of 5, based on over 1,219 reviews left anonymously by employees. 71% of employees would recommend working at Penguin Random House to a friend and 55% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.
71% of Penguin Random House employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Penguin Random House 3.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.6 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at Penguin Random House to be culture, career development, benefits and the cons to be diversity and inclusion, management, compensation.
