Am I bad at strategy, or just struggling with being a junior?
I’m 22 and about 1.5 months into my first full-time role as a Creative Strategist at a digital agency. The agency itself has a good reputation and people seem happy there, but I feel like I’m struggling almost every day.
I keep getting corrected on things like presentation skills, process, and sometimes messing up instructions. I recently made a process mistake because I forgot something that had been discussed before. My manager wasn’t harsh, but it was another addition to a long list of moments where I felt like I disappointed people.
What bothers me is that this isn’t a one-off. I don’t think I’ve had an “excellent” day yet, decent no-mistake days at most. Almost every workday feels like I messed something up or wasn’t good enough.
The people around me seem to perform much better. One colleague has 2 years of experience and another has 10 years. They work closely together in office, whereas my direct manager works remotely. I often feel confused, overwhelmed and slower than everyone else.
The thing is, confusion and presentation skills have been difficult for me my whole life. I’ve tried really hard to improve these things, but they continue to be weaknesses. At the same time, I genuinely love research, culture, consumer behaviour, insights, and I’ve worked really hard securing a strategy role which are rare at a junior level, the people working in the same designation as me have more than or at least 2 years of experience and so I know there’s a lot that was expected off me and I’m just not living up to it. I’ve done a lot of internships and part time work before where I have always been praised and stood out.
I have a few questions:
Did anyone else feel like they were constantly messing up in their first few months?
How long did it take before you stopped feeling lost?
I’d appreciate some honesty and advice
Posted Jun 23, 2026, 10:19 AM UTC