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Penguin Random House

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Entry-level publishing work - Publishing Assistant Penguin Random House Employee Review

2.0
24 Apr 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Free books! Lots of time off, great medical care, loan repayment program.

Cons

-No money!!!!!! -Antiquated business ideas, reluctant to hear fresh ideas or expand onto emerging platforms -Very few career opportunities, no one moves up/retires -Poor people management (expectation is that junior employees will schedule their own professional development conversations--one more burden they put on employees who already make nothing and receive no respect from upper management. Very difficult to initiate these conversations as upper management operates on a "you're lucky to even work here, shut up and do your work" attitude.)

Explore other reviews about Penguin Random House

5.0
20 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

• Caring people. Psychological safety is emphasized by people at every level. I feel like leadership at each step of the reporting chain is very approachable and transparent. • Great work/life balance. • There is a lot of openness to trying new technologies or doing different things for such a large and established organization. There is very little "trend chasing," it's more like you're listened to. As the CEO started out as a technologist, he has a realistic view of what new tools (including, but not just, AI) can do for us. • Informal, especially for a company created by the merger of two nearly-100 year old publishing firms and was recently acquired by a nearly-200 year old company. • Company supports learning and development. • Free books! • I care greatly about the company's mission and it's clear how my work impacts the company's ability to execute on it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

Cons

• Pay and insurance are very average, but I can live with that. This is a much bigger con for employees whose jobs require them to be on-site, especially in e.g. London and New York. • Said learning and development seem to have a ...deliberate pace. While this is fine and what I wanted, other tech people coming in from more "tech-y" organizations mightn't gel with it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

5.0
20 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great writing, Top tier production

Cons

The male director never asked me once how I was doing or offer any advice to calm my nerves (on my first production ever with them) which lead to a burdensome recording process.

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