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Penguin Random House

Is this your company?

Nice place to work, as long as you never worked for Penguin. - Anonymous employee Penguin Random House Employee Review

3.0
20 Oct 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great Benefits, Nice working conditions. The building is fairly modern and well ventilated. Good location in downtown Manhattan. As long as you never worked for Penguin you probably have a decent chance of getting work there.

Cons

If you were unlucky enough to work for Penguin then Random House employees replaced everybody and Random House wants to cut all ties to anyone who used to work for Penguin. There was a merger you see in 2015 - the same way Germany merged with Poland in 1939. It's laughable that 'Penguin' has been kept in the company name. It was nice while it lasted. Ah well, time to move on.

Explore other reviews about Penguin Random House

5.0
20 June 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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