TIPS FOR JUNIOR COPYWRITERS (GOOD TO KNOW AT ANY LEVEL)
How to advance in a creative agency
1. Know what’s expected of a junior and where the next level starts
If you are early in your career, you are probably motivated, and you want to exceed or at least make sure to deliver on what is expected of you. One thing that is really helpful is understanding what your role is actually meant to cover. Not as in writing copy, but understanding the difference between junior, mid, and senior copy responsibilities in your agency. You can always ask your manager, but you should definitely cover this in your review and performance cycles. Make sure you cover this and understand the nuances.
Agencies vary slightly in structure, but when it comes to creative roles, there are some widely accepted norms.
As a junior copywriter, you’re expected to:
Support more senior creatives
Be tapped into culture and deliver out-of-the-box thinking
Start to show range. Voice, tone, formats
Handle smaller briefs (like social posts or internal comms) fairly independently
But basically, as a Junior, you would usually get constant guidance. Here’s what you’re not usually expected to do yet:
Work on anything alone
Present to clients (def. not on your own)
Manage your own time
Manage people
If you’re asked to do any of these, it’s worth asking whether your title still fits the work.
Mid-weights usually:
Can own medium-size projects
Collaborate with the team independently
Write autonomously with minimal guidance
Start to build relationships with clients
Occasionally guide juniors or interns
Present regularly, often alongside a senior or CD
Mid-weight is when you’re expected to be self-sufficient. You still collaborate, but you’re not waiting to be told what to do.
Seniors:
Lead campaigns
Direct teams or manage other creatives
Make final creative calls before CD/ECD approval
Handle complex client conversations
Develop juniors
Help shape creative standards for the agency
Tip: Ask your CD what would make you say someone’s ready to go from junior to mid. That question alone can open up really clear feedback and help you plan what to grow into.
2. Don’t stay quiet about overwork
Something I see with a lot of juniors (and definitely went through myself) they take on too much because they want to prove themselves or oddly feel like they are not allowed to say no. So they say yes to everything. They try to please everyone.
Sometimes, they even take on tasks from people who technically shouldn’t be assigning them anything (which can even be rooted in the lack of experience or understanding of the person giving you that task).
What ends up happening is:
They overwork
The quality drops
No one knows they’re drowning because they never said anything
Knowing what you can take on and speaking up about it is not being difficult. It’s being professional.
It shows that you understand your time, your capacity, and how to prioritize. Mid-weights are expected to manage their own workload. If you don’t start practicing that now, the jump will be a lot harder later.
Be vocal about what you’re working on
Let people know when your plate is full
Ask which task takes priority when multiple things land at once
Push back if something doesn’t seem like it should fall under your role
Suggest realistic timelines based on what else you’ve got
Your team can’t support you if they don’t know what’s going on. And no one benefits from you saying yes to everything. It’s easier to adjust expectations upfront than to fix things after the deadline’s passed. If you shut up and wait too long, that’s when it’s on you.