Press Release: Penguin Random House UK Launches ‘The Scheme’ to Find the Marketers of Tomorrow

LONDON — March 14, 2016 — Penguin Random House UK has today launched ‘The Scheme’, an entry-level programme which aims to attract the marketers of tomorrow and find people with creative talent and potential who may have never considered a career in publishing.

Designed to attract and assess applicants based on their potential rather than experience, ‘The Scheme’ is open to everyone, whether they’re leaving school, college or university or already working. To reach those candidates, Penguin Random House UK is recruiting via Tumblr (http://www.the-scheme.co.uk/) a highly popular social network among 18-34 year olds – 40% of Tumblr’s global audience fall within this age group – and a hub for innovative and creative minds.

Four successful candidates will join Penguin Random House UK in September this year for a 13-month paid programme, receiving a comprehensive induction and training, in addition to two six-month marketing placements in two distinct and dynamic publishing divisions. They will have the opportunity to work with brilliant minds in teams who have delivered campaigns for Fifty Shades of Grey, The Fault in Our Stars, H is for Hawk, The Girl on the Train, Jamie’s Comfort Food, A Delicate Truth, and Little Black Classics.

Rather than submitting a CV, applicants will respond to seven questions designed around the seven qualities each must have to be successful: a passion for Penguin Random House UK’s purpose; ideas and the ability to make them happen; curiosity; ambition; being digitally minded and social-media savvy; being persuasive; and being adaptable. In stage two, candidates will be asked to complete a creative challenge via video interview on the interactive platform, HireVue, and finally there’ll be two selection days later this summer.

Neil Morrison, HR Director, Penguin Random House UK and International said: “The Scheme is about breaking down perceived barriers and getting creative people who might never have thought about working in publishing to think again. By using Tumblr to recruit, we’re able to reach young people in the places where they’re already spending their time online.

“We are passionate about this new programme because we want to hear new voices, see different perspectives, and find fresh ways to tell our stories, to complement the wealth of marketing talent we already have across Penguin Random House UK.

Tom Weldon, CEO, Penguin Random House UK, added: “To connect our authors with the widest audiences possible we are focused on talking more directly and meaningfully with readers in bold and exciting new ways. We are experimenting and investing in new skill sets and techniques, from partnering with Mind Candy to launch its PopJam app to selling out a 10,000-seat tour for Caitlin Moran in the last year alone, to ensure Penguin Random House is the most consumer focused publisher in the UK. To build on this, we want to find and nurture the very best creative talent to help us connect readers with the stories, ideas and writing that matters."

‘The Scheme’ is one of many ways in which Penguin Random House UK is opening up careers in publishing to everyone. Applications for eight 10-week paid summer internship placements also open on 16th March, and the publisher offers annual internships to members of black, Asian and ethnic minority communities through Creative Access and its Helen Fraser Fellowships.

Candidates for ‘The Scheme’ should apply at http://www.the-scheme.co.uk/ by 10 April 2015.

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