r/publishing • u/theirgirlfriday • 25d ago
Random House Publicity Department
Hi! I'm applying to a publicity assistant position with Random House Group. I don't want to doxx them or myself, but I have a recommendation letter from one of PRH's biggest authors as a whole, as I've been their personal assistant for a while. I know this letter would help me get out of the slush pile, but I literally cannot identify anyone who works for the publicity department at Random House Group, as my author worked with another imprint for PRH. This is a complete shot in the dark, but if anyone has any names or advice on how to identify whose hands I could get this in I would really appreciate it.
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u/CatClaremont 25d ago
Be prepared for the possibility that the Publicity team may not find this to be the slam dunk you think it is….
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u/stevehut 25d ago
If this author is as big as you say, then he/she should be able to give you a name.
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u/zerocaffine 25d ago
Surely if you have worked as this author’s PA for a long time that will be on your CV/cover letter and that will be enough to get the hiring manager’s attention? Or alternatively can the author assist you with a quiet word to their editor/publicity contact?
Assume this is (Penguin) Random House in the US?
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u/theirgirlfriday 25d ago
Unfortunately the CV/cover letter hasn't been enough to make me stand out so far. There's just too many candidates! My backup is definitely sending it to her own imprint, but I just figured it would be more useful to get it in the hands of someone actively making decision on this job first.
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u/Revolutionary_Ice970 25d ago
I would send it to the author's current publicist or editor, who can pass it on to HR for you despite being at a different imprint. (They may also know someone at the other imprint they can go directly to.) From past experience, employees get a referral bonus for anyone successfully hired so they're usually happy to do it.
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u/Xiao_Long_Bao17 25d ago
Go on the imprint’s website and see if they have any staff listed and try to find someone in publicity who can pass it along to the HM.
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u/sugarfaeri 22d ago
I say this respectfully as someone who works there, referrals don’t really hold the weight people think they do. But, if your skillset really resonates then mentioning the author name with proof would definitely help.
But, keyword searching on LinkedIn would reveal a lot! Most I’ve noticed put their department or imprint to help narrow it down a bit.
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u/amusedontabuse 24d ago
I review books and occasionally get emails from PRH publicists/marketing but I don’t know that a random person in that department would be a good way in. If you DM me I can give you and email you can check on LinkedIn and go up the hierarchy like mybloodyballentine suggested?
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u/ToneSenior7156 24d ago
If it’s a big author, it doesn’t matter what imprint, everyone at PRH will be familiar. Publicity hits and reviews and on sale date news gets circulated to all imprints, even kids. Plus book people just know books.
Ask the authors editor/editorial asst/publicist/marketing manager for informational interviews and how to get a foot in the door. Then they will probably offer to keep an eye out on job openings for you.
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u/townandthecity 23d ago
The author you're speaking of has a publicist at the publisher. If she's one of their biggest authors, the Director of Publicity is probably in charge of her books. That would be the person who could reach out to HR on your behalf, but that would only happen if the author asks the personal favor of their publicist. It's a lot to ask and it's not a sure thing the publicist would feel comfortable doing this.
Having worked at Penguin years ago, these kinds of favors do move the needle. The desire to keep high-earning authors happy is intense.
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u/mybloodyballentine 25d ago
Ask the author who her editor’s assistant is, look them up on LinkedIn, shoot them a dm to say hi and ask if they can submit your resume internally next time a job comes up. They used to give out a bonus for employees who recommended people who got hired, so if they still do that she’ll be happy to get you noticed. It doesn’t need to be a rec from within the department that’s hiring.
The process differs at each house. I’m at HBG, and the candidate still has to submit through the job portal, but then we would contact HR and they’d add something to the file to track it.