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Penguin Random House

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Penguin Random House

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Penguin Random House Reviews

3.7

71% would recommend to a friend

(597 total reviews)

Interim CEO Nihar Malaviya

Nihar Malaviya

58% approve of CEO

Ratings by category

3.9

Work/Life Balance

3.6

Culture & Values

3.4

Diversity & Inclusion

3.2

Career Opportunities

3.2

Compensation and Benefits

3.1

Senior Management

Ratings distribution

5 stars

25%

4 stars

41%

3 stars

26%

2 stars

7%

1 star

2%

Top Review Highlights by Sentiment

Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor

Pros
  • "Surrounded by smart people and the benefits are good(in 154 reviews)
  • "The people were great and everyone wants to help you succeed.(in 114 reviews)
  • "Very colourful and vibrant office; has a pulp shelf offering free books(in 82 reviews)
  • "Great team and colleagues(in 53 reviews)
  • "Work life balance is good(in 37 reviews)
Cons

Ratings by Demographics

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Found 597 of over 1K reviews

Updated Dec 4, 2023

    1. 5.0
      Nov 4, 2023
      Senior Sales Associate
      Current Employee
      New York, NY
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Great people, great benefits, and a wonderful atmosphere

      Cons

      Still need to work on increasing salaries and offering more promotions

      1. 2.0
        Oct 5, 2023
        Associate Production Manager
        Former Employee, more than 3 years
        New York, NY
        Recommend
        CEO Approval
        Business Outlook

        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
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        1. 3.0
          Nov 12, 2023
          Royalty Analyst
          Former Employee, more than 5 years
          New York, NY
          Recommend
          CEO Approval
          Business Outlook

          Pros

          You get to work with Good people and management

          Cons

          Not much room to grow.

          1. 3.0
            Nov 5, 2023
            Vice President
            Current Employee, more than 10 years
            New York, NY
            Recommend
            CEO Approval
            Business Outlook

            Pros

            Industry leading publisher with great benefits

            Cons

            New leadership lacks strategic vision, morale is low

            1
            1. 2.0
              Nov 2, 2023
              Publicity Assistant
              Former Employee, more than 1 year
              New York, NY
              Recommend
              CEO Approval
              Business Outlook

              Pros

              "Free" books are definitely the biggest perk. Health insurance is nice too.

              Cons

              The pay is way too low for NYC.

              1
              1. 4.0
                Oct 25, 2023
                Publicity Assistant
                Former Employee, more than 1 year
                New York, NY
                Recommend
                CEO Approval
                Business Outlook

                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.

                1. 2.0
                  Sep 21, 2023
                  Marketing Associate
                  Current Employee, less than 1 year
                  New York, NY
                  Recommend
                  CEO Approval
                  Business Outlook

                  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
                  1. 2.0
                    Aug 29, 2023
                    Anonymous Employee
                    Current Employee, more than 5 years
                    New York, NY
                    Recommend
                    CEO Approval
                    Business Outlook

                    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
                    1. 3.0
                      Oct 29, 2023
                      Concur Auditor
                      Former Employee, more than 1 year
                      Westminister, MD
                      Recommend
                      CEO Approval
                      Business Outlook

                      Pros

                      Work from home type of job (Flexible)

                      Cons

                      The manager Kinda mean and all that

                      1. 4.0
                        Oct 25, 2023
                        Editor
                        Former Employee
                        New York, NY
                        Recommend
                        CEO Approval
                        Business Outlook

                        Pros

                        Interesting people to work with

                        Cons

                        Not a very high paying field

                      Viewing 1 - 10 of 597 Reviews
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                      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.

                      According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Penguin Random House employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Penguin Random House . This rating has improved by 1% over the last 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.

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                      Senior Resource Manager

                      Last Thursday and Friday I interviewed with 2 hiring managers for 2 different companies. Both of them said they’d like me to progress to the next interview and the recruiter would reach out. One company said they wanted a offer out this month so it would be a quick process. I sent thank you emails and references. I haven’t heard from either recruiter. I had the recruiter screening and hiring manager interview just days apart, I thought I’d hear back by now. Thoughts?!

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                      Underwriting Support Specialist

                      Underwriter 1 commercial line posted salary $45k-75k, I am aiming for at least 65k. No degree or designations, currently p&c licensed with 4 years of insurance. Is my goal too high? How should I go about negotiating my salary?

                      1
                      0 Comments

                      Program Manager

                      Just heard that some companies are going to start paying people for their time if they are asking you to do a presentation or something! Does anyone think this will become a thing?

                      1
                      0 Comments

                      Glassdoor has 1,219 Penguin Random House reviews submitted anonymously by Penguin Random House employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Penguin Random House is right for you.