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Penguin Random House

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The best of the business - Anonymous employee Penguin Random House Employee Review

4.0
May 28, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Great work-life balance, excellent benefits, very generous vacation time, and many other perks that come from working for such a large company. Plus, plenty of free books!

Cons

Sometimes it feels like certain departments and divisions work much harder/under worse conditions than others... as in all of publishing, just as much internal competition as external. Also, coming from the Penguin side of the merger, some lingering bitterness among the remaining senior level employees. And of course, low salaries.

Explore other reviews about Penguin Random House

5.0
Jun 20, 2026
Recommend
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
May 20, 2026
Recommend
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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