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BNY Mellon technology specific questions -
#0 How much max salary for grade K ?
#1 How long does it take to promote in bny from grade K to L ?
#2 Any specific criteria for promotion? Expr , certification etc...?
#3 How much % hike to expect post promotion ?
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Can only speak anecdotally, but for myself and talking with jr strat friends at other agencies it seemed like there were two groups with two different learning curves.
- Group A: those who already had “strategist thought process”, but don’t know how to organize themselves and succinctly ‘package’ their thoughts
- Group B: those who already have great organization skills, time management, deck making is easy, etc., but haven’t learned to notice hidden connections, trends, deeper human motivations, lateral thinking, etc.
Before you research your ‘training curriculum’ I would suggest figuring out which camp they lean closer towards. I was a Group A type and it wasn’t until I had a manager who gave me step by step commentary and walked me through all the stages from messy Word Doc to cleaned up written Outline to slides skeleton to fully designed slides that everything clicked.
Friends who were Group B picked up the ‘making connections’ skills primarily by reading strategy books, listening to strategy podcasts, having someone senior explain their ‘strategy brain trail’ from start to finish on a recent assignment, etc.
TL;DR - most junior strats need individually tailored learning plans; no one size fits all 👍
Any podcasts to recommend?
There's SweatHead and the Planning Dirty programs that introduce a lot of different frameworks and examples to practice on. I've also had luck giving juniors mock assignments like reverse engineering briefs from existing campaign case studies to get them learning from other work. At that level they should be like sponges trying to see as many examples of different approaches to help them later find what works well for them.
Coach
So sensitive.
Be really prescriptive at the beginning because remember - they don't have any experience and thus do not have the same lens, instincts, and shorthand that you do. Give them decks/formats you have found to be really helpful, that solve for what you're looking for (a brief, trends, POV, etc.) and say to them "This has really helped me in the past. Use this as a guide, but feel free to improvise. I'd recommend doing XYZ"
So, SO many planners are so hands off at training, and it's infuriating. Just tell them what you think it should be, and they'll learn by doing, and eventually start to develop their own instincts.
The most helpful thing is real assignments. Things feel a lot different when the “bullets” are real. You learn more through doing—IMO.
Yep just smaller pieces of the whole puzzle
everyone is going to recommend Sweathead but it’s not good for that. You don’t learn proper strategy. They need to be reading ‘how not to plan’ by Les Binet and Sarah Carter. Can you get them on an APG fundamentals course? Very very useful, and all online.
Coach
You need to treat it like any other course. Chunk the work into modules. Give them the assignment for each with some guidance but not the answers. Then review the work and send them back on it until it’s right.
In my experience it takes 3x the time you would think. But the extra reps are what builds the muscle.
As an aspiring jr strategist myself, I appreciate all of this. It also solidifies my interest in becoming a strategist, so I will keep your suggestions in mind. With that being said, looking for a jr strategist role 👋
Start small and grow. Begins with specific assignments with overtly clear direction, and lots of check ins. Show how their work fits into the larger ask. Gradually build confidence and skill with more expectations and less direction. That takes time and patience.
And as a lead, you are never off the hook for mentoring your team, or being responsible for the end product. Best part is, good directors, leads, mentors, coaches and teachers figure out along the way that they continue to learn a lot in that exchange as well.
So many helpful suggestions here. Be hands on. Expect many revs. Understand your juniors background, thus their needs. Loving it.