I applied online. The process took 7 weeks. I interviewed at Penguin Random House (New York, NY)
Interview
Overall, everyone was very nice, respectful of my time when I was going in for my in-person interviews, and took their time getting to know me and asking about my qualifications. I would say communication was going well until the very end when I received an automated message saying that the position was filled. I felt that after such a personal and professional process, that it was very impersonal ending when I knew I was a finalist. Not sure if Penguin is allowed to give feedback on interviews but no one seemed comfortable to say much, which is fine, but I think it's okay to also say that it is policy not to give feedback/they aren't comfortable doing so.
Spoke with seven different people during my process that lasted more than a month. Felt the process took too much time.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why PRH? Why this position? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What are you reading now? Tell us about something that went wrong and how you fixed it. No curveballs.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Penguin Random House (New York, NY) in Feb 2015
Interview
Interview felt like a head game. Little transparency, and unclear about expectations. Interview process took about two weeks.This included phone call screening, had two interviews, and then hired. Mostly open ended questions during interview.
I applied through other source. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Penguin Random House (New York, NY) in Jul 2016
Interview
Met with HR and editors on the same day, which I was not told about. HR is (dutifully) unreadable, bubbly, accommodating. Editors were great to connect with, but clearly in the process of going through multiple resumes and interviews. In the end, pretty clear they were looking for someone with a lot of previous experience as a publishing assistant or from an alumnae from their alma mater.