HOK Reviews

No real defined path for advancement. The principals there couldn't care less about helping advance lower staff's career/growth,, they were all talk. Reviews are a joke and lead no where. If you want to advance, you either have to whine about it for years (provided they deem you worth keeping), bring in a million dollar client, or 'work' (wink wink) your way up the ladder. Just ask the former HR manager who went from receptionist to senior associate in record breaking time. And then there is the technical principal. The first thing he does in the morning is put a chip on his shoulder (think napoleon complex). No one likes working with him and he would even fight and argue with vendors who came to hold lunch and learns because according to him, he knew EVERYTHING. And the managing principal says nothing because he loves having his faithful minions that will follow him anywhere he goes. Before all the former SOM'ers, HOK NY was great, but they ruined everything about that work environment there.

Prima donna designers who think the firm is more special than it is (HOK designs a lot of jails and prisons). Low and inequitable pay among longtime staff. Horrendous work/life balance. Significant turnover around the 5 year mark due to extreme difficulty with advancement. Massive cyclical layoffs.