How We’re Failing Young Creatives
Recently, I came across an article that described the harsh realities of being a young creative in the industry—late nights, uncredited work, and constant pressure, all for the hope of recognition that never comes.
A senior creative shared this article with advice: "If you are not happy with your job, change your attitude. Change your job. […] Because being creative isn't a sprint; it's a marathon."
When I see comments like this, unapologetically praising a system of oppression where talent is measured in hours (with extra hours widely encouraged), I wonder why our industry is so blind to its toxic tendencies.
Learning shouldn’t have to be that hard and failure can only be rewarding if you understand why you failed. The truth is that we are failing the juniors.
Why?
Because we don’t set them up for success.
Most juniors are hired solo to do the dirty work of seniors. Few of them have a real mentor helping them learn the ropes and be seen by others.
They fly from brief to brief, creative to creative, without anyone to follow their journey and give them the advice they need.
Big agencies don’t take the time to give feedback.
I’ve been to numerous meetings where young creatives got the same briefs as seniors. The juniors would be off-brief, as expected. But instead of explaining what went wrong, the team congratulated them for the ‘amazing work.’ Later, they laughed and deleted their presentation slides.
We prefer dishonesty over proper training because let’s be honest: providing constructive and actionable feedback is hard.
We expect them to fail.
It’s in the books: failure will make you better.
In reality, as mentioned earlier, we don’t give young talents the time to fail meaningfully. Instead, the most efficient way to avoid their failure is to use them as executors – assigning simple tasks and strict guidelines to get things done quickly and avoid mistakes. But this approach prevents them from learning.
Agencies don’t train creatives to be good mentors.
As you grow more senior, you take on management responsibilities – you get assistants, become a creative director…
But managing teams isn’t something you learn as a creative. There’s no training for it.
And the result is daunting.
I saw it in my early years as a creative. Half of my peers left the industry within less than a year and never wanted to come back. The other half, when finally reaching mid-level creative roles, burned out. Not because they weren’t talented or "made" for advertising, but because the system doesn’t encourage healthy growth for talent.
So, is this all we have to give to our juniors?
Failure as the best way to become a better creative?
These challenges aren't unique to agencies; they reflect a widespread undervaluing of junior talent across industries
As a teacher on the side, I see how my students struggle with concepts I consider simple. But by taking the time to explain things, I see their progress within a few months.
It is a journey, but thanks to that, I’m also learning to articulate my thoughts, advice, and directions better—and we all grow together.
The creative industry needs to stop seeing juniors as dispensable resources and start investing in them as the future of the field. It's not just about doing better – it's about ensuring that creativity thrives for generations to come with actions like:
- Structured mentorship programs: pair juniors with experienced professionals who can provide consistent guidance.
- Prioritizing feedback and training: establish a culture where constructive, actionable feedback is a routine part of the process. Invest in workshops and training sessions to help juniors develop their skills and seniors to learn about management
- Creating a culture of empathy: encourage senior creatives to build strong, supportive relationships with their teams. Empathy fosters trust, which leads to more open collaboration, better ideas, and stronger creative outcomes.
We owe this to them. The next generation of creatives should not only amaze us but surpass us.
