Penguin Random House Designer Interview Questions
& Process

Super friendly interviewers, first we met in person where I showed them my work and introduced myself. After that, I was given a design task that involved using real photography and copy from a book, related to the job. Then there was a virtual meeting with more of the team, which felt more like a traditional interview with lots of questions.

I had a really good interview before for a similar role, and although I didn't get the job, the feedback was great and I liked the company. So I reapplied. This time, I interviewed with a different team for a similar position, and it was the exact opposite experience. It seemed obvious from the start that they had already picked someone else and were just going through the motions with me. They asked very few questions without any real follow-ups, hardly looked at me, and ended the interview precisely at the 30-minute mark. It felt like a waste of my time and theirs. I haven't heard back from HR about the outcome or feedback, but I'm assuming I won't be offered the role at this point!

I got a call from HR, which I thought would be a quick interview. It actually ended up with a lot of questions. I then went in for an in-person interview with HR. She was really a little formal, but very nice. After that interview, she sent me upstairs to meet with the Art Director. We actually had a lot of things in common, and she was pretty cool. Meeting with her was more casual, and it was more of a conversation than asking questions. About a week or so later, she sent an art test to the applicants that was due the following Monday. About 3 weeks later, I received a call from the woman I interviewed with in HR, thanking me for meeting with them, and saying that the Art Director decided to move forward with another applicant, and they'll keep my resume on file. I'm a little bummed I didn't get the job, but it is very classy and decent on their part to actually call the people who did not get hired.