Q&A: Emilie Grol, Sales Data Assistant at Penguin Random House

For Work in Publishing Week 2025, we're sharing stories from people who are in the early years of their publishing careers. Here we catch up with Emilie Grol, Sales Data Assistant at Penguin Random House.

What’s the story of how you found your way into publishing?

My journey into publishing has been far from linear. My love for research pushed me towards a career in academia and I became a research assistant at the University of Chicago. However, as I started writing my Bachelor’s dissertation on the civil rights movement, I became interested in the organisational strategy and pedagogy of social movements – why they succeed, and how they cultivate grassroots leadership. Instead of writing about successful social movements, I wanted to be involved in shaping them.

I went into youth work and became a youth board member where I continue to meet with government and charities to shape programmes for young people. At the same time, I worked on a project to map the youth work sector, highlighting frontline services to allow organisations to see where their work intersects and turn isolated efforts into a cohesive network. Discovering the power of data to strengthen working relationships, I took a three-month intensive data course and started looking for jobs where I could pursue my love for research and analysis while contributing to something meaningful.

More than any skill, I found that an eagerness to learn was crucial.

Publishing appeals to me because, as someone who loves reading, I feel passionately about bringing great books to life. I believe books can be world-expanding, comforting, and entertaining all at the same time. Being offered a work experience placement in sales at Penguin Random House (PRH) was so exciting and, after being welcomed into such an incredible organisation, I wasn’t ready to leave! Luckily, during my final week of work experience, I met my current line manager to find out more about data analysis at Penguin. In this chat, she told me about an open position in her team and encouraged me to apply. I am now incredibly happy to be part of a fantastic team, working with sales data to help our divisions to bring books to readers across the world.

What skill did you find most valuable during your first few months in publishing?

More than any skill, I found that an eagerness to learn was crucial. PRH’s work experience placements are the most incredible time to learn about the industry but they are very short. I made sure to be in the office every day asking an endless stream of questions. I love hearing about people’s careers and the insights they have gleaned along the way. If the person I was talking to didn’t know the answer to a question which had sprung up from our conversation, they would direct me towards someone who did. At PRH, people are extremely generous with their time but, as it’s a huge organisation, you have to be the one giving direction to what you want to find out.

Big publishers are having to balance their roles as trend setters with being attuned to a market where power is increasingly shifting to the consumer. I never expected to hear this much about romance spice levels, or how Dubai chocolate and cowboy boots could impact what we publish!

Since starting full-time, this over-eagerness has continued to be useful in becoming involved with things outside of my job’s natural scope. There is a huge amount you can be involved with like visiting the Penguin Archive, taking internal courses, and contributing to socially impactful initiatives like The Scheme and WriteNow.

What’s a part of the publishing process you didn’t even realise existed before you started?

It may sound ridiculous but it’s my job in sales data or, at least, how much work there is outside of editorial. I had no idea it could take two to three years for a book to be published and was surprised to find out that Sales is involved from the get-go. I’ve also loved learning about how the audience insights team tracks trends to find out what people are reading, and how they discover their next book.

Big publishers are having to balance their roles as trend setters with being attuned to a market where power is increasingly shifting to the consumer. I never expected to hear this much about romance spice levels, or how Dubai chocolate and cowboy boots could impact what we publish!

Even though I didn’t think sales would be for me when I started applying to work experience placements, I ended up loving it. I hadn’t realised how much you got to talk about books outside of editorial.

Another thing that surprised me was that, even though all entry-level roles are looking for ‘assistants’, you don’t just assist! I have already been handed the exciting project of moving our Ireland reporting into PowerBI. This has given me the opportunity to bring a brand-new report to life, liaising with the Ireland team on functional requirements and designing something which will allow them to harness the full potential of their data.

What one experience really stands out from your first year in publishing?

I joined just in time for Penguin’s 90th and nothing has been as exciting as going to the Penguin 90th exhibition at Waterstones Piccadilly and seeing the impact PRH have made, and the generations of readers our books have shaped.

What’s the best piece of unofficial advice you picked up – something no one tells you before you start?

When I was initially applying for jobs, I was very selective about what I wanted to go into and only applied for the most competitive positions. A lot of the time I felt like my CV wasn’t even being read and I found it hard to stand out. I was told that the most important thing is getting your foot in the door. I was encouraged to cast my net wide, apply for all entry-level jobs, and move into the area I wanted to be in from there.

I was encouraged to cast my net wide, apply for all entry-level jobs, and move into the area I wanted to be in from there.

Even though I didn’t think sales would be for me when I started applying to work experience placements, I ended up loving it. I hadn’t realised how much you got to talk about books outside of editorial. Crucially, it also brought my current role into reaching distance as I met my current line manager during my work experience placement and was encouraged by her to apply for an open position in her team.

Now that I have helped to shortlist applicants for The Scheme, I know that my application will have been read and carefully considered. I just hadn’t figured out how to answer the questions yet! With such an abundance of applications, being vague or missing out part of the STAR framework can cost you. That’s two, interconnected, pieces of advice: be open minded, and be clear.

If your career in publishing were a book title, what would it be – and why?

I really struggled with this one. As I walked along my bookshelves to get some ideas, I saw Nausea, Things Fall Apart, All Passion Spent, One Hundred Years of Solitude – not really the vibe I was looking for! I was saved by the sticker on my laptop of The Very Hungry Caterpillar which made me think of the hunger for experience and knowledge I mentioned before. Bonus points because it’s a Penguin Random House title!