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    Penguin Random House Reviews

    Updated June 19, 2018
    348 reviews

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    3.8
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    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
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    Markus Dohle
    147 Ratings

    348 Employee Reviews

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    Pros
    Cons

    • "Some departments have limited room for growth, competitive" (in 13 reviews)

    • "Low pay in comparison to graphic designers in other industries" (in 25 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. Helpful (1)

      "Coordinator"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Culture & Values
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in New York, NY
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in New York, NY
      Recommends
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Penguin Random House full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Great culture; leave work on time; summer fridays

      Cons

      Slow growth for more responsibility

    2. "Senior Publicist"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Penguin Random House full-time

      Pros

      Terrific benefits, autonomy on projects, and great growth opportunities

      Cons

      The book business is tough! It's hard to promote books in this news climate, and sometimes it can be discouraging.

      3. Join the Penguin Random House team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. "The Pro's Outweigh the Cons"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Publicity Assistant in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Publicity Assistant in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Penguin Random House full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      The people are wonderful, and the purpose--making books that people will love--is hard to beat.

      Cons

      Long hours. It wasn't uncommon to work an 11 hour day, and on the way out see others still at their desk.

    4. Helpful (1)

      "Best publishing company to work for."

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Editorial Assistant in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Editorial Assistant in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Penguin Random House full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      The people are kind, creative, and intelligent; the company is committed to increasing diversity in both the staff they hire and the books they publish. Great vacation and leave policies.

      Cons

      While PRH has the highest entry-level salaries in the publishing industry, it’s still very hard to make ends meet in NYC on just under 40k. On the editorial side, there are few opportunities for promotions and moving internally is neither publicized nor encouraged.

    5. "Mostly Good"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Customer Service Coordinator in Westminster, MD
      Current Employee - Customer Service Coordinator in Westminster, MD
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Penguin Random House full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Most of the people that work here are friendly, fun and make the work day go by quickly
      Free books
      Great benefits and discounts

      Cons

      Not a lot of room for growth
      Management makes changes to the department setup and account assignments every 3-4 years, sometimes more often, with little input from employees and usually with very little notice

      Advice to Management

      More open communication and be more open to employee input.
      Most CSRs are really account managers and should be given the title and the pay that goes with it.

    6. Helpful (1)

      "Good company culture, poor growth potential"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Sales in New York, NY
      Former Employee - Sales in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Penguin Random House full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Great company with strong corporate governance that is clearly a well oiled machine via the Bertlesmann guide behind the scenes. The combination of the world's two largest publishing companies created this monster that essentially made you feel as if you were the top dog at the party.

      Cons

      Room to grow, especially for younger employees is quite minimal. There seems to be this antiquated expectation that you cannot perform your job or any job for that matter unless you have been around the scene for 20+ years. There is not enough respect for new ideas and age seems to be a much greater factor in evaluation of an individual than it should be. The salary they give is not very strong either.

      Advice to Management

      Work toward a system that fosters respect and growth opportunities for young employees. The pay is tough to swallow, give more realistic hope for a better future for the youth that is under appreciated.

    7. "Was okay"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I worked at Penguin Random House full-time

      Pros

      Great time off, easy hours.

      Cons

      No vision for the future.

    8. "Merger Made it Worse"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I worked at Penguin Random House full-time

      Pros

      Great hours, no long nights or required overtime. Some high profile books to work on. Really flexible with kids and working from home as needed.

      Cons

      Too many changes with the merger that forced employees into totally different roles. Changed your job function without any consultation.

    9. "A great place to work"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Vice President Marketing in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Vice President Marketing in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Penguin Random House full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      I love working at Penguin Random House because the people are smart and caring, the company is ethical, and the pay and benefits are generous for publishing.

      Cons

      It can be bureaucratic because it's so large.

    10. Helpful (1)

      "Senior Publicist"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Senior Publicist in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Senior Publicist in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Penguin Random House full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Nice benefits + mostly great coworkers

      Cons

      Horribly underpaid. Make less than male coworkers on similar levels.

      Advice to Management

      Be more engaged / have a stronger sense of how to manage employees workloads and help them prioritize. Advocate for better salaries to keep good talent around.

    Showing 348 of 408 reviews
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