Sunday 25 February 2018

My Experience at Working at Penguin Random House!



Hey guys,

So, if you follow me on social media, then you will know that I was working at Penguin Random House Publishing at the beginning of February, and it was honestly the most incredible two weeks! Before I started work experience here, I was very unsure about what I wanted to do with my life (I do English at uni, I literally could not have picked a broader subject), but left knowing exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

So yeah, was a pretty helpful and insightful experience! (I do apologise for the delay in this post, I've legit been away from my laptop for about two weeks now, hence the lack of posting, but I'M BAAAACK!)

So, I'll start with the application process. I saw work experience being advertised on the Penguin Random House Careers Twitter page, so thought that I'd apply, as it looked like a great way to get an insight into working at a publishers. However, as it was Penguin Random House, one of the biggest publishers in the world, I wasn't hopeful. I guess I just thought that there would be a hell of a lot more people with more experience than me who would get it.

However, Penguin actually place their work experience randomly, so everyone has a fair chance of getting work experience. I personally think this is fab, as I have only had one prior placement in marketing, and, as I am a student, I don't really have time to get work experience during term time, and I work through the holidays.

Within Penguin Random House, I applied to marketing and publicity, as it was something that I was always interested in, and after my work experience last summer, I knew that it was definitely something that I wanted to pursue.



A couple of weeks after completing my application, I found out that I had received a work experience placement at Michael Joseph in the marketing and publicity department. I genuinely could not believe it when I opened my email, but I was so unbelievably excited!

So, the only issue that I had was the fact that it was in London. And I live very far up north. And don't have any family or friends near London (well, who would be there during term time), so next was the issue of accommodation.

However, Penguin actually have an agreement with the Book Trade Charity, and have a bungalow in Hertfordshire for their work experience who don't live in London to stay. So yeah, I ended up staying here for the first week, and it was lovely! It was so easy to commute into London, and only took about 45 minutes to an hour to get to work every morning!

In the second week, I ended up staying in student accommodation, yet would not recommend this, as it was incredibly overpriced and was not worth the money at all! However, I do know that Penguin/publishers have a scheme called the Spare Room Project. This is where where people who work in publishing open their spare room to someone on work experience who isn't local.

In terms of the work I did there, I got to do a range of tasks, including sending out packages and writing letters to authors, celebrities and influencers (which was pretty damn cool!!). I also got to pitch my ideas, and also got an insight into PR and marketing campaigns, which was so interesting!

One of my tasks was to go and get some balloons from a shop on the Strand, and I soon came to realise that carrying 10 helium balloons when it's windy is never going to end well, and I sincerely apologise to the people who I hit in the face. Multiple times. Oops.

I also was very fortunate to attend a book launch for Elizabeth Enfield's new novel 'Ivy & Abe', and it was AMAZING! It was quite a small launch, with just friends, family and people from Penguin Random House, but I thought this made it quite special, as it was in a book shop just off Leicester Square, so made it seem more personal. It was definitely one of the highlights of my work experience! Plus, I got a signed copy of the novel, and I am so looking forward to reading it!

All the people on the work experience also got to meet with others from a range of departments, giving us even more insight into how things work in a publishing house. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and I couldn't have asked for a better place to get work experience!

I hope this was helpful, and gave a bit more of an insight into what it's like to get work experience at Penguin, and I can honestly say, no two days are the same, and it's definitely a great place to work if you're a book lover like me! Plus, you get to see books that haven't even been published yet, and you get FREE BOOKS! The absolute DREAM. I literally came home with about 20 books (my mum was well happy), and I am so excited to get through them all!

This work experience has also inspired me to start reviewing books on my blog, as it is always something that I have wanted to do, but never knew how to start! So be sure to look out for those!

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all soon!

Much love,
Grace x

20 comments :

  1. That sounds like the coolest work expeirnece ever! i've done work experience at a library and with a freelance photographer, nothing as cool as this!

    www.thediaryofellie.com

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    1. Aw thank you so much! And working with a freelance photographer would be so cool, and I used to be a librarian at school, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it haha! Thanks for reading lovely! X

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  2. Hi, what an experience to have different to work experience in my day. Great that things are chooses not for people at random and a helpful tip about the accommodation.

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    1. It’s such a great idea to do it at random, it’s really difficult finding work experience nowadays! Thank you for reading! X

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  3. Girl, did you land the dream placement?! Like an editing house! Books all around you! I love books! this would be the dream for me too! It is great to read your experience and find out a bit more about how it is inside because glitter outside does not mean it is amazing inside too! xx corinne

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    1. It was amazing!! Genuinely is something that I would love to pursue, and you should definitely apply! It’s a great way to see what it’s like in the publishing industry! X

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  4. You're so lucky! This sounds like the dream placement.. I would love to work in a publishing company :)

    Perrine
    www.ola-banana.com

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    1. You should apply for this, they open every couple of months with two week placements! They’re advertised on the twitter that I linked above xx

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  5. What a great work experience! Hopefully this will give you more of a 'foot in the door' in your future work goals. I always think its great when work experience places give you the opportunity to be part of the job, rather than just making you sit there or do the 'rubbish' jobs!
    Aimsy xoxo

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    1. I hope so, and I completely agree, they were so helpful and I got to work in a range of different areas within marketing and publicity! X

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  6. This would literally be my dream!! It’s so good that they’re accommodating to people who don’t live in London!! What an amazing experience! Well done you!!

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    1. I know, it’s so good isn’t it, I’ve checked out a lot of other work experiences in London, and they’re unpaid and don’t offer any form of accommodation (some just say ‘need to be able to commute into London daily’) so they’re only accommodating for people who live in London, which is incredibly unfair x

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  7. Omggg 😮 this sounds super exciting! Nothing like getting work experience that really encourages your career path. I love marketing and PR, I can only but dream of finding placement or even an internship in some place as welcoming as this. Honestly, such a lovely read and it got me so pumped and excited for you. Best wishes moving forward! 💕

    xx Lena | https | https://lenadeexo.com

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  8. Can't wait to read more reviews! Marketing and Publicity sound like the sort of thing I'd love to go into in the future too x
    Morgan

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  9. This is an amazing post!! I've just got my first role in marketing in publishing (for academic journals rather than trade, but it's in the right industry, so I'm nearly there!) and I'm loving it so far! This sounds like a great opportunity and it's fantastic that it has left you inspired with what to do with your life. Good luck with it all - and I hope you enjoy reviewing, I love it!

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  10. This sounds amazing! I love reading and i wish I could have had such an opportunity! I wish I had done something more on the lines of English as a degree.

    Abbie
    overpeachchic.com

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  11. Wow... what an amazing experience!:) Great post ❤❤

    https://tiateilli.com

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  12. I am so jealous, I have applied for the exact same internship maybe seven times! I hope one of these days the random selection picks me! Loved your style of writing and started following your blog x

    acupofwonderland.wordpress.com

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  13. Wow what a dream work experience ❤️ Free books too it would be like heaven !

    Melanie | www.frasersfunhouse.com

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  14. This sounds so fun! (Even carrying the balloons) and free books is always a win!

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