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Penguin Random House

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Children's is brutal - Marketing Penguin Random House Employee Review

2.0
10 July 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

If you want a long-term career in publishing, PRH is the best-known and biggest publisher in the world. As of now, flexible working is a big perk (company/division hasn't mandated days in the office). Having seen other parts of the business, Children's is much more engaged with D&I work, thanks mainly in part to a lot of committed people on the ground (less so thanks to leadership).

Cons

Despite Children's being the most profitable arm of the company, money is incredibly tight. Promotions generally only happen when someone leaves and merit-based raises are practically impossible to come by. Everything is about profit profit profit, saving on overheads, and semantics to refuse raises. We can sometimes be forced to work on books that cause us individual harm. Have been told that's just part of the job. Across PRH as a whole (beyond just Children's), there is a very fluffy and slow approach to D&I work. From the outside looking in, the company is saying the right things. However, change is slow to happen on the inside. The current system benefits those already in power and management has not created a culture where people who aren't white, middle class, and British can feel supported. Because Penguin is such a big name, closely followed by Puffin and Ladybird, there will always be a queue of people desperately wanting jobs here. That means that everyone is disposable.

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.

3.0
28 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

People are really nice and nerdy

Cons

The pay is way too low for NYC

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