Whizdom Recruitment

29/10/2026

29/10/2026

Whizdom’s Managing Director and founder John McCluskey and Sharon Mccluskey at the 2026 Prime Minister’s National Veteran Employment Awards.

Last night, Whizdom was proud to be recognised as a national finalist for the Best Veteran Employment Commitment Initiative at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

As a veteran owned business, supporting veterans and their families is something that has always been close to Whizdom.
While we did not take home the award, being named alongside Boeing Australia and Optus in this category was an incredible recognition of that commitment.

Congratulations to all of the 2026 winners and finalists! It was wonderful to see so many people and organisations coming together in support of veterans and their families.

A very special night, and one we were proud to be part of.

27/10/2026

🎉 Celebrating 20 Years of Whizdom | Featuring Zachery Alker 🎉
For this instalment of our 20th anniversary staff series, we caught up with Zac, Whizdom's System Administrator. If you've visited the Whizdom website, chances are Zac is a familiar face. Known around the office as the "face of Whizdom", he's featured on the homepage of our website while behind the scenes helping support the technology, systems and security initiatives that keep the business running. We spoke with Zac about his first days at Whizdom, what he enjoys most about his role, and what he's excited about for the future.

Q: What was it like when you first joined Whizdom?
Zac: "Whizdom is my first office job, so there has always been a lot to learn. When I started at Whizdom, I was also studying for my Certificate IV in Information Technology, so I was learning new skills both at work and through my studies, which kept me pretty busy.
Whizdom was also a bit smaller back then. I joined when the Sydney office was still pretty new, and since then we've added a Brisbane office and a lot more people across the business. It's been cool to see how much we've grown."

Q: What do you enjoy most about working at Whizdom today?
Zac: "Definitely the people and the variety. No two days are really the same, which keeps things interesting. One day I might be helping someone fix an IT issue and the next I could be working on a project or learning something completely new. I enjoy the challenge of solving different problems and there's always something new to learn."

Q: What are you excited about for Whizdom's future?
Zac: "I'm excited to see where Whizdom goes next. Every time the business grows, it brings new challenges and new things to learn. It's been great seeing how much Whizdom has changed since I started, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next."

Q: What are 2 standout Whizdom highlights?
Zac: "Passing our ISO 27001 certification was definitely a standout. It was a huge project and introduced me to a side of IT that I hadn't really been involved in before. There was a lot to learn, so it was great to see everything come together in the end.
The annual conferences are another highlight. It's always good catching up with people from across the business, seeing everyone in person and taking part in the team building activities."

Thank you, Zac, for the support you provide behind the scenes and for helping keep Whizdom connected, secure and running smoothly every day. We'll keep sharing more perspectives as we celebrate 20 years of Whizdom.

23/10/2026

What a night for Whizdom! 🏆

We’re very proud to have taken home the Best Performance Award at last night’s APSCo Australia Awards for Excellence 2026. This one belongs to the whole Whizdom team. Our performance is the result of a lot of people doing their jobs exceptionally well, supporting each other and looking after our clients, candidates and contractors every day.

Then came a surprise we absolutely loved. Our founder, John McCluskey, received an individual award for his contribution to the ACT recruitment community. Anyone who knows John knows he isn’t one for self-promotion, so we’ll happily do a little of it for him.

As you can see from our photos, we certainly enjoyed celebrating both! 🥂

A big thank you to APSCo and everyone involved in putting together the Gala. It was great to catch up with familiar faces, spend time together outside the office and celebrate another year in recruitment.

Congratulations to all the finalists and winners. We loved sharing the night with you.

21/10/2026

🎉 Celebrating 20 Years of Whizdom | Featuring Katrina Gabriel🎉
Continuing our 20 Years of Whizdom series, we've been catching up with the people who have helped shape our journey. One of those people is Katrina Gabriel, who was the 100th graduate of the APSCo Certified Staffing Professional Program while helping build Whizdom's presence in NSW. Based in the Blue Mountains, Katrina has been part of the NSW team since its early days and has played a role in the team's growth and expansion into new markets.

Q: What was it like when you first joined Whizdom?
Katrina: "Everyone was super friendly and welcoming. I work remotely, but the support and inclusion I received were amazing and made me feel part of the team from day one.
The induction and training were also really comprehensive, which made settling into the role much easier. It was clear from the start that Whizdom had built a strong reputation in Canberra and was a highly respected business, which is a real credit to John's vision and the Canberra team."

Q: What do you enjoy most about working at Whizdom today?
Katrina: "The people would have to be at the top of the list, especially the Sydney and Brisbane teams who I work with every day. I also really value the flexibility and work life balance that Whizdom provides. Another thing I enjoy is working with our clients and candidates. We play an important part in a candidate's career journey, and being able to help people take that next step is something I never take for granted."

Q: What are you excited about for Whizdom's future?
Katrina: "We're working with some exciting clients across Sydney and Melbourne, and I'm looking forward to seeing those relationships continue to grow over the next 12 months. It will be exciting to see what opportunities come from that growth."

Q: What are 2 standout Whizdom highlights?
Katrina: "The annual conference is always a highlight. As someone who works remotely, I love the opportunity to catch up with colleagues from across the business in person, celebrate our successes, hear about what's ahead and recognise our award winners.
Another standout has been seeing how much effort people make to stay connected as a team. Even though I don't work alongside my colleagues every day, I've always felt included, supported and part of the team. On my first visit to the Canberra office, I found out I was the 100th graduate of the APSCo Certified Staffing Professional Program. APSCo sent cupcakes to celebrate, which was lovely! It's a good thing I was in the Canberra office because I don't think I could have managed to hide all those cupcakes from my family in my home office!"

Thank you, Katrina, for the positivity, care and support you bring to Whizdom every day. Oh, and for sharing the cupcakes. 🧁 We'll keep sharing more perspectives as we celebrate 20 years of Whizdom.

12/10/2026

🎉 Celebrating 20 Years of Whizdom | Meet Farbar Siddiq 🎉

For Farbar Siddiq, joining Whizdom meant more than starting a new career in recruitment. It also brought him back to his hometown of Sydney, where he’s since played a part in growing Whizdom’s NSW presence and expanding into new markets. As part of our ongoing 20th anniversary series, we caught up with him about his early days in recruitment, the people who supported him along the way, and a few standout moments from his time at Whizdom.

Q: What was it like when you first joined Whizdom?

Farbar: “When I started at Whizdom in Canberra, I was new to recruitment, so there was a lot to learn. I remember feeling welcomed into the team pretty quickly and reassured that I had good people around me who always made time to answer my questions and give me advice.

Not long after starting, I decided to move back to my hometown of Sydney. The timing worked out well because it meant I could join the Sydney team and help build Whizdom’s presence in NSW under Kay Eriksson’s leadership.”

Q: What do you enjoy most about working at Whizdom today?

Farbar: “I really enjoy the variety. No two days are ever the same, and there’s always something new to learn. I get to build relationships with different clients and candidates, work with people from all kinds of backgrounds and take on different challenges.

The team environment is a big part of it too. I know there are always people around me who are willing to help or offer advice when I need it.”

Q: What are you excited about for Whizdom’s future?

Farbar: “One of the things I value most about Whizdom is its people first culture, so I’m excited to see the business continue to grow without losing that. We’ve already achieved a lot over the past few years, and I think there’s still plenty of opportunity ahead.”

Q: What are your standout Whizdom highlights?

Farbar: “Winning the Rising Star Award in 2024 was definitely a standout moment for me and something I’m really proud of.

The other highlight has been being part of the growth of the Sydney team and getting the chance to grow the business into areas outside of government. It’s been rewarding to see how far we’ve come and to have played a part in that growth.”

Thank you, Farbar, for the energy you bring to the team and for the part you’ve played in building Whizdom’s presence in Sydney.

We’ll keep sharing more perspectives as we celebrate 20 years of Whizdom.

08/10/2026

What happens when you bring together great people, sunshine and pizza?
Whizdom's annual Pizza in the Park.

It was fantastic to see contractors, clients and the Whizdom team come together for lunch, soft drinks and catching up outside the office. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this years Pizza in the Park.

See you at the next one.

06/10/2026

We’re excited to share that Whizdom has been named a finalist for SEEK Medium Recruitment Agency of the Year. 🥳 It’s great to be recognised by SEEK, and we’re grateful to the clients, candidates and contractors who continue to work with us.

A big thank you to our team across Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. This recognition reflects the work that goes into supporting our clients, candidates and contractors every day.

Congratulations to all of this year's finalists. We look forward to celebrating with everyone in November.

02/10/2026

🎉 Celebrating 20 Years of Whizdom | Meet Kay Eriksson 🎉
Continuing our 20 Years of Whizdom series, we're reflecting on the people who have helped shape our journey. For Chief Operating Officer Kay Eriksson, one thing stood out from the moment she joined the business: the stories. Even then, with 17 years of history behind it, Whizdom was built on strong relationships, shared experiences and a culture people were proud to talk about. Three years later, that hasn't changed.

Q: What was it like when you first joined Whizdom?
Kay: "When I started we had the one location, our Canberra head office. I spent lots of time driving between Sydney and Canberra and meeting all the staff to find out what made Whizdom so unique. It was super interesting as most of them were wondering who this new COO was all the way from Sydney and were slightly reserved until I got them to open up and then couldn't stop them telling me all the stories of the past 17 years!"

Q: What do you enjoy most about working at Whizdom today?
Kay: "I love the variety the most. One day I am working with our established Canberra operation and then next with our one-year-old start up in Brisbane, and everything in between. I love the opportunity to help progress our established business into other states and markets. The other standout is our team. With Whizdom's differentiators centred around collaboration not competition, it really makes us a tight knit team right across our three locations."

Q: What are you excited about for Whizdom's future?
Kay: "There is so much to be excited about! To be building various stage start-ups in Sydney and Brisbane at the same time as helping our mothership in Canberra go from strength to strength is an amazing story to be part of. I love motivating people to succeed and supporting growing offices. My Operations team at Whizdom are best in the business and together we are continually streamlining and improving all our processes and assets."

Q: What are your standout Whizdom highlights?
Kay: "Winning APSCo Best Compliance Team (reaction pictured above), which was recognition from the industry for our brilliant back office and celebrating Sydney's first placements over lunch. There's something special about recognising those early milestones when you're growing a new office. They're the moments that remind you how far you've come. Although after reading this, I imagine the Brisbane team will be expecting a few lunches of their own... with interest added!"

Interviewer note: The Brisbane team was unavailable for comment, but we believe they're already researching Brisbane's finest lunch spots.

Thank you, Kay, for your leadership, your optimism, and your unwavering support of our teams across Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. We'll keep sharing more perspectives as we celebrate 20 years of Whizdom.

25/09/2026

🏆 We're excited to share that Whizdom has been named a finalist in the Best Veteran Employment Commitment Initiative category at the 2026 Prime Minister's National Veteran Employment Awards.

The recognition highlights the impact of our Words of Whizdom event series initiative focused on helping employers better understand veteran and partner employment, skills translation, inclusive hiring and workforce participation.

As a Veteran-owned business and recognised Veteran Employer of Choice, creating opportunities for veterans and Defence families is something we're incredibly passionate about.

Thank you to the judges for recognising our work, and congratulations to all finalists across this year's awards.

We're looking forward to celebrating with everyone at the awards ceremony and shining a spotlight on the organisations and individuals making a real difference for the veteran community.