One of the things that can disappear in a recession if we are not careful is a commitment to attracting the brightest people into commercial media and retaining them within the industry once they have arrived.
Recruitment, retention and training can appear tempting targets for the accountants' pens when they are looking to strike a line through a particular cost centre in the budget that the chief executive wants re-forecasting.
This is, of course, short-sighted. Businesses must become lean and mean in an economic downturn, but they must also have an eye for the time when recession ends and the economic outlook improves. Talent is one of the key ingredients in ensuring businesses come out the other end fit for purpose and ready to drive on. And media businesses need to keep doing all they can to sell the careers on offer and encourage the best talent into our industry.
That's where Media Week's 30 under 30 initiative comes in. Launching this week, the competition is open to anyone in a media agency, media owner or client position who is under 30 on 28 July 2009 and hasn't appeared in a previous 30 under 30 list.
The 30 will then be cut down to a shortlist of five candidates who will present to our judging panel of senior industry figures for consideration as Rising Star of the Year in the Media Week Awards 2009.
Interestingly, when we caught up with last year's final five, all of them were working for the same companies they were when they won their award, proving that this process is not just a benefit for headhunters. Their companies have recognised the talent they possess and given them the opportunities to progress their careers internally, thereby retaining their best people and helping them contribute to the success of their organisation.
Last year, the initial number of entries exceeded 100 and the overall standard was exceptional.
To find out more about how to enter the competition yourself - if you feel particularly bullish about your own ability - or, alternatively, how to nominate someone in your organisation, request one from harriet.dennys@haymarket.com.
