This morning at Sydney’s Macleay College, five women nominated in the rising star category at B&T women in media awards sat down with Macleay students to chat about the importance of learning, failing, challenging yourself and growing within the media industry.

Genevieve Clay-Smith writer and director at creative agency Taste Creative

This year, Clay-Smith was a finalist in the rising star category and took out the creative category at the B&T Women in Media awards. Clay-Smith talked about why moving forward is important and why failure is a good thing.

“For me it’s really about not going too far up with the highs, so that I don’t go too far down with the lows. Really trying to keep a level head throughout the whole journey.

“I was very proud to receive the Creative award from B&T, that was a real highlight for me. It encouraged me that the creatives we’re producing at Taste is of a very high standard, that’s what I’m most passionate about. I’m a creative and I love producing high quality creative within my team. That award was very encourage and I was very proud to receive that.

“You might fail and that is a possibility, but failure comes with the deal. If you want to do big things with your life then you just have to face up to fail, it’s going to happen but you just have to pick yourself up. You have to fail in order to grow.”

Aleisha McCall founder and managing director Ultimate Edge Communications

McCall won the Rising Star Award in 2014, discussed what her proudest career moments are and why a knowledge gap is actually a good thing.

“The thing that I’m most proud of is the courage to back myself and I think that’s something which has stayed with me in every big decision I’ve had to make,” McCall said.“The moments that I’m able to step up and back myself and know that I’m moving in the right direction.

“When I left my career in radio and I had this big bold ambition of starting my own media agency, I had a huge knowledge gap between what I knew in radio and all of the other mediums that I need to get my head around really quickly. I needed to either bring people around me to fill that gap or I needed to get educated myself.

“As long as you’re committed, as long as you’ve got drive, and they can see that you’re not a time waster they will give you their time.”

Jess Cook senior manager corporate partnerships and marketing at Sydney Swans

Cook was a rising star finalist at the Women In Media awards and told the audience about her future goals within the sports industry and her biggest tip to working in media.

“I would love to continue to be a senior executive in sport, and encouraging female leadership in sport because we’re growing in the space but there’s a lack of females in senior leadership positions around the board table in sporting clubs.

“Somebody once said to me ‘you are the CEO of your own career’, it sounds a bit wanky, but it’s 100 per cent true. you are the person that has the ability to make those changes and progress to where you want to be.”

Natasha Carroll account director at Red Agency

This year Carroll was nominated in the rising star category at the B&T Women in Media awards. She discussed how you’ve got to adapt in the media world and if you don’t love your job then get out!

“My ambition is getting more into a global group role, being an integrated agency PR’s role has changed so much. We used to be silo-ed from our advertising colleagues, but now when we receive a brief from the clients we’re in the room as soon as it comes in. We’ve got the media guys who place the ads, we’ve got the creative guys who will come up with that big idea and the PR guys who want to amplify it and make it a big topic that people want to talk about.

“For me it’s about really loving what you do, there are so many jobs out there in the world. When I see really smart, educated people and they’re good with people and in a terrible job I just think ‘why are you there’. So it’s absolutely about loving what you’re doing and being ready to work hard.”

Danni Hudson senior business manager InMobi

Hudson was also nominated as a rising star, told the crowd to never stop learning and honesty is the best policy.

“I’m passionate about continuing to learn, there will always be someone that is more intelligent than you, who knows more than you, in a room. So go and chat with that person, try and pick their brains and learn something. If you get your first role and you don’t think you’re learning anything try and work out what is you can do to keep learning.

“My advice would be honesty. Everyone is a person on the other end of the phone, in an email, in a meeting. if you’re honest then they can’t fault you.”

Photo credit: Raúl Ortiz de Lejarazu Machin