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Penguin Random House

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Good employee package, good books, bad senior management - Anonymous employee Penguin Random House Employee Review

3.0
May 1, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you want three weeks of vacation, Xmas week off, and a lot of free books then this is the company for you. There are some very talented people and the company seems to have lots of activities and training programs to keep employees involved. Unfortunately, if you land in the wrong place... the perks are just too good to be true.

Cons

High turnover in some departments because of insane upper management that goes unchecked by HR. There are supervisors who are known for not developing their employees or training them... these are the supervisors who will also mentally abuse you until you quit. Ask very pointed questions in the interview process and find out more about the hiring manager before you accept an offer. You can get a great manager and be the happiest on earth. You could also end up with a witch.

Explore other reviews about Penguin Random House

5.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

super friendly work environment, very understanding, very fun

Cons

in consumer marketing department, a large number of people work remotely

5.0
Jun 20, 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.

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