What should a planner with 1 year of experience be capable of doing or have already accomplished in their career? I’m worried that I am behind

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OP, you've got the same access to the same info the more senior strats do. Instead of asking your boss for opportunities, maybe try and proactively create them on your own? Take a stab at writing a brief, and then bring it to your boss or another strat you respect. Do some research, identify some sharp/new insights/thinking, put a meeting on the calendar of your boss or other strats, and then present to THEM. Just because you're not GETTING the opportunities to progress doesn't mean you can't CREATE them yourself. Agencies are flatter structures, and if yours isn't for whatever reason, know that senior strats always opperate as if they are, anyway.

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Research - written discussion guides/surveys, moderated focus groups/fielded surveys, delivered insights.

Strategy - competitive reviews, business reviews, creative briefs.

Soft skills - confident presenter, decent deck writer, strong writer, build relationships with creatives, influence with account team.

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OP if after a year your boss hasn’t even given you the chance to take a crack at starting a brief, you’re in the wrong place for SURE

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Wow.

If I were your boss, you’d have already tried and failed and tried and failed and thus learned at all of these things.

So ask your boss how you can create a safe environment for you to try and fail.

The only two things I keep a shorter leash on are briefing creative and formal presentations (all about informal though) to senior clients.

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@VP thanks! I work at a larger LA agency and have never written a brief or presented anything...but I think it’s because I work on a large account and there aren’t many opportunities for juniors to have that level of responsibility?

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VP, what agency are you at? @Planner your experience is definitely more common than people think. Leo, Ogilvy, BBDO, BBH are one of the few polices that still teach. Are huge training centers for strategist. Other shops don’t

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@OP every account is different. Just talk to your boss about wanting opportunities to do some of those things.

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@BrandStrategist1 The things I listed was what was expected of me when I was a junior at GSP. I agree that places that offer training will have a more deliberate approach. Unfortunately places like GSP (many, many years ago) are more sink or swim.

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@google awesome advice, thank you!

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Run

@VP more deliberate approach meaning less exposure to projects such as writing briefs or leading focus groups?

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