Is Penguin Random House a good company to work for?

Penguin Random House has an overall rating of 3.9 out of 5, based on over 1,558 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 70% of employees would recommend working at Penguin Random House to a friend and 73% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Penguin Random House have been left by employees working as Editorial Intern , Intern and Director .

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 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Penguin Random House ?

70% 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 3.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Penguin Random House ?

Editorial Assistant (50) , Editor (33) , Intern (29) , Editorial Intern (25) , Publicity Assistant (22) , Designer (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 190 reviews)); "The people were great and everyone wants to help you succeed." ((in 128 reviews)); "Very colourful and vibrant office; has a pulp shelf offering free books" ((in 92 reviews)); "Great team and colleagues" ((in 65 reviews)); "Work life balance is good" ((in 44 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 140 reviews)); "Poor management and can be improved" ((in 29 reviews)); "Lack of diversity and inclusivity." ((in 24 reviews)); "If you are paired with a difficult manager, your life will be a waking nightmare." ((in 15 reviews)); "long hours which lead to no life" ((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.

What are the top reviewed Penguin Random House locations?

New York , Westminster , Crawfordsville , Brooklyn , Baltimore , Hampstead , Chicago , Los Angeles , San Francisco , Reno , Woodstock , Kirkwood , Forest Hills , Austin , Victoria , Gulfport , England , Carmel , Indianapolis , Cincinnati , Emeryville , Mountain View , Iowa City , Seattle , New Milford , Atlanta , Old Tappan , Remote , Antares , Canada

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Penguin Random House

Penguin Random House reviews

3.9

70% would recommend to a friend

(1,194 total reviews)

Nihar Malaviya

76% approve of CEO

73% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Culture & values

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Work/Life balance

3.4

Senior management

3.3

Compensation and benefits

3.3

Career opportunities

Penguin Random House has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 1,194 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 Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

1K reviews

2.0

Nov 5, 2016

Culture change after merger for the worse

Systems administrator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I really liked working for Random House for over 5 years but there was a complete culture change after the merger from an almost family business to a corporate machine

Cons

Random House is gone which is a shame because I feel something very special has been lost. The senior managers are not very upfront to staff and one always feels they are being mislead

4.0

Oct 31, 2016

Good company overall

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great vacation time (start with 20 vacation, 4 personal, plus sick and additional 10 or so days where offices are closed). Also great benefits.

Cons

Pay for entry-level is good for industry, but mid-level and up don't pay as well as other big publishers. Very corporate.

3.0

Oct 20, 2016

Nice place to work, as long as you never worked for Penguin.

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.

Viewing 988 - 990 of 1,194 Reviews

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Jobs at Penguin Random House

Reno, NV: Light Picker/Packer: 2nd shift $18.00/hr

Credit and Collections Associate

Production Assistant – Audio (On-site)

Assistant, Insights & Analytics (Hybrid)

Director, Online & Digital Sales (Open to Remote)

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Penguin Random House

Penguin Random House reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Culture change after merger for the worse

Good company overall

Nice place to work, as long as you never worked for Penguin.

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