Does Penguin Random House pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Penguin Random House employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.3 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Penguin Random House . This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Penguin Random House ?

72% of Penguin Random House employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Penguin Random House 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Penguin Random House ?

Editorial Assistant (50) , Editor (33) , Intern (29) , Editorial Intern (25) , Designer (21) , Publicity Assistant (21) , Marketing Assistant (20) , Publicity Intern (15) , Assistant Editor (13) , Director (13) , Senior Designer (13) , Manager (12) , Graphic Designer (11) , Marketing Coordinator (11) , Author (10)

What are the pros of working at Penguin Random House according to real employee reviews?

"Great benefit as well as perks" ((in 192 reviews)); "The people were great and everyone wants to help you succeed." ((in 141 reviews)); "Very colourful and vibrant office; has a pulp shelf offering free books" ((in 90 reviews)); "Great team and colleagues" ((in 66 reviews)); "Great work/life balance" ((in 48 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Penguin Random House according to real employee reviews?

"Pay was low and that was about it" ((in 129 reviews)); "Poor management and can be improved" ((in 32 reviews)); "Lack of diversity and inclusivity." ((in 22 reviews)); "Long hours running into weekends" ((in 13 reviews)); "You can get a great manager and be the happiest on earth." ((in 13 reviews))

What are employees saying about Penguin Random House layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Penguin Random House layoffs and their outlook for job security at Penguin Random House in 2026.

Penguin Random House reviews

3.9

72% would recommend to a friend

(1,189 total reviews)

Nihar Malaviya

81% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

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Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Penguin Random House has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 1,189 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Penguin Random House employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Mídia e comunicação industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

1K reviews

3.0

Dec 1, 2016

No room for growth

Warehouse associate

Recommend

Business Outlook

Pros

Steady work: RH is growing and diversifying good benefits, for a single man i have found the benefits to be good and plenty

Cons

Low pay, no upward mobility, heavily in deportment politics, no concern for happy employees,

3.0

Nov 18, 2016

Publicity Assistant

Publicity assistant

Recommend

Business Outlook

Pros

Free books, access high-profile authors, and the chance to sit in on meetings where big decisions about print runs and strategy are made. Opportunity for mentorship with senior editors and publicists. Great location in the West Village/SoHo. It's a good job to develop basic publicity skills. You have the opportunity to watch a book go from proposal to editorial to design to launch, and that's pretty cool. Benefits were pretty good--fairly comprehensive health/dental/vision packages at a relatively low price.

Cons

It's a lot of grunt-work. A lot of long hours. A lot of tedious tasks, such as list-building and mailing packages. The pay is abysmal, and the work atmosphere is very hierarchical and can be, at times, demeaning to a young person who wants to learn and has ideas. High-stress, high-pressure, and surprisingly fast-paced environment. You get 20 days of vacation even as an assistant, but I never felt comfortable taking my vacation. Promotions are often more title changes than actual promotion--you may get promoted to Associate Publicist, but you'll still be a Senior Publicist's assistant while working on your own full list of books, and the pay raise will be incremental.

4.0

Nov 16, 2016

A publishing powerhouse

Anonymous employee

Recommend

Business Outlook

Pros

A brilliant, commercially savvy, imaginative publishing house who is taking bold steps to secure its future in an ever changing world.

Cons

Its symptomatic of consumer book publishing, but too many books being published and everyone stretched to do the best job they can on more and more books.

Viewing 976 - 978 of 1,189 Reviews

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