First thing you need to know about interviewing for Penguin Random House is that they're obnoxious and don't respect your time at all. If you get a response from them for a position (which I did only after a dozen attempts and despite have "connections" within the company) they don't give you a specific time to schedule the phone interview. Instead, they ask you to choose a slot where you have to commit to keeping yourself free for three hours so they can call you when it suits them. After a successful phone interview, I was told that I would hear back from the hiring manager next week regarding the in-person interview. After ten days of radio silence, when I reached out to them again, I was told that they were still in their first round of interviews for the internship (which was scheduled to begin two weeks from then). I reached out to them again a week before the internship was scheduled to begin and still haven't heard back from them. The least they could've done is give me a concrete no. It takes all of two minutes to send that email template. Instead, they strung me along for over a month. I missed out on opportunities that I had put on hold because I was told that there would be a next round of interview and it never happened. I have never interacted with a company as unprofessional as Penguin Random House before. Just because they're a leader in book publishing, it doesn't give them the right to treat interviewees with such utter disrespect and disregard.

Had a quick hr screening. Ayesha was very helpful and helped me prepare for the actual interview. The second internview was with a designer and production specialist. They were very lovely. I already had tons of experience, and I was probably overqualified for this internship. But in the end, they decided not to go with me. I think it really is all about vibes. If you can connect with the two people you'll be working with, that's how you'll increase your chances. Overall, I had lovely conversations with them, but I'm sure there another candidate that was the perfect pick.