// Recruitment Leaders

Top Recruitment Leaders in Australia & New Zealand for October 2026 | Atlas – Hoxo Elite 100

In this October edition of the Atlas – Hoxo Elite 100, we turn the spotlight on outstanding recruitment leaders across Australia and New Zealand. Some names have moved since our last ranking. Every recruiter on this list still represents the very best of the industry, sharing insights and starting conversations worth following all year. As always, explore Hoxo if you want to grow your presence on social media.

Let’s take a closer look at our October 2026 recruitment leaders ranking:

Want to see who made the Top 100 in other regions? Check out our lists for:

• Top Recruitment Leaders in Europe for October 2026
• Top Recruitment Leaders in North America for October 2026

How We Calculate the Atlas x Hoxo Elite 100 Rankings

The Elite 100 rewards recruiters who show up and add value month after month. A single viral post won’t secure a spot. We look at LinkedIn audience size, posting consistency, engagement, comment activity and past performance. Steady growth over time carries more weight than a short burst of attention.

A Quick Refresher on the Elite 100 Leagues

The ranking is split into four leagues of 25 recruiters. Each league has its own 1 to 25 ranking, and together they form the full Elite 100. This format lets us recognise a broad range of recruitment leaders while keeping the competition clear. At its heart, the Elite 100 celebrates recruiters who spark real conversations and lift the standard of content in our industry.

What Australia & New Zealand’s Leading Recruiters Focused on in October 2026

Ryan Explains How to Find the Fuel Behind Great Candidates

Ryan tops the Atlas League with a post on one of the biggest green flags in an interview: a candidate with something to prove. That drive might come from a tough upbringing and the wish for a different life. Ryan sees it often in mums with young children, who are determined to show they can build a career and raise a family at the same time.

He calls that determination the fuel. His advice to recruiters is direct: skip the generic questions and get to the core of what motivates people. If you can sense that fuel, find a way to make the hire work.

The post resonates because it reflects what agency recruiters see every day. CVs rarely show determination. Good conversations do. Ryan’s focus on working parents, a cause he champions on LinkedIn, also gives employers a welcome nudge to look past their assumptions.

Pete Explains Why Young People Should Back Themselves Early

Pete leads the Gold League with a bold post on the kind of careers he wants for his kids. He doesn’t want them chasing “proper” jobs. He wants them to take risks and build businesses that keep them fulfilled every day.

For Pete, 2026 is the era of the entrepreneur. Young people have the world at their feet, so why wait? He questions the unwritten rule that everyone must first serve an apprenticeship working for somebody else. He’s also clear that he’d fully accept it if they chose a more traditional path.

With 23 years in recruitment-to-recruitment and community building, Pete brings real perspective to the conversation. For agency recruiters, the post is a prompt to rethink how the next generation sees work, and what they’ll expect from the careers we help them find.

Anton on Why Industry Experience Is an Overrated Requirement

Anton takes the top spot in the Silver League with a post questioning one of the most common hiring requirements: “the candidate must have industry experience.” He hears it far too often, and he wants to know why it carries so much weight.

He shares the story of one of the most talented tech leaders he knows. A company’s talent team approached him, then rejected him for lacking industry experience. Anton argues that hiring from the same sector creates an illusion of safety. Industry experience becomes a stand-in for capability, and great people with a fresh outlook get shut out.

It’s a conversation agency recruiters will recognise. Pushing back on narrow briefs can open clients up to stronger candidates and new ways of thinking. Anton closes by asking his network whether they’ve seen a cross-sector hire make a real impact, a question worth putting to every client.

Indira on the Highs and Lows of Agency Recruitment

Indira rounds out the Bronze League with an honest look at a tough week in recruitment. It started with a 90-second call where a candidate hurled insults at her for asking a couple of basic questions about a role.

The rest of the week brought more challenges. An urgent technical role went on hold after her team had found excellent candidates. A prospective client asked her to match a much lower fee. A candidate called a role his dream opportunity, then disappeared midway through the process. She handled it all while recovering from the flu.

Indira admits recruitment can be unpredictable and, at times, thankless. Recruiters pour time and energy into helping people, knowing priorities and minds can change overnight.

So why does she still love it? Because when it works, it’s brilliant. Plenty of agency recruiters will see their own weeks in this post, and her candour is what makes it so relatable.

What October’s ANZ Leaders Teach Us About Hiring Differently 

This October edition of the Atlas x Hoxo Elite 100 shows recruiters across Australia and New Zealand asking bigger questions about talent. Ryan looks for the drive behind a candidate. Anton challenges the comfort of industry experience. Pete questions the traditional career path altogether, while Indira gives an honest view of the daily reality of agency life.

Together, they share a willingness to look past the obvious. They value motivation over box-ticking and honesty over polish. They also show the resilience it takes to keep going when roles stall and candidates go quiet.

Their perspectives push recruitment towards fairer, more thoughtful hiring, and that benefits candidates and clients alike.

10 Rising Voices: Australia & New Zealand’s Fastest-Growing Recruiters

Growth tells its own story beyond the four leagues. This October edition also highlights the Top 10 Rising Recruitment Voices in Australia and New Zealand, ranked by net growth across the past three rankings. These recruiters are gaining ground fastest, building their audience through steady posting instead of a single viral spike. Jonathan Lamm leads the way with the strongest climb, followed closely by Pamela Panagopoulos, Chanell McAsey and Verge Das Neves. Momentum counts as much as scale, and these are the recruiters to watch as 2026 draws to a close.

The Platform Powering Better Hiring Decisions

Atlas – the Recruitment Platform supports this way of working by cutting down the admin that slows recruiters down. That frees up time for the conversations that matter, like uncovering what truly motivates a candidate or pushing back on a narrow brief.

The recruiters in this edition stay close to their market and act fast. Atlas helps with that too. Its structured candidate database lets you search your talent pool and match people to open roles in one place, so you can spot strong candidates from any background and move quickly when the right fit appears.

If you missed it, take a look at our previous Top 100 list. Keep sharing your knowledge and staying visible, because there’s still time to be part of the 2026 list.