Coming home from a Pinnacle Society meeting, I wrote an ERE column about a conversation with executive search veteran Ralph Protsik. He asked me a handful of questions I still think about. Here they are, with my short answers and a link to the original below.

Ralph’s Questions

• Do you feel you are good at what you do?
• Do you feel you are worth the fees you charge?
• Do you feel you are among the best, and that clients are extremely well served working with you?
• Do your candidates benefit from a relationship with you?
• Do you get thank you notes, and does it matter?

Are You Good at What You Do?

Most of us overestimate the competition. Once, when my team kept talking about how strong our competitors were, I wrote their names on the whiteboard, had the team guess each firm’s size, and then called to find out. They were smaller than we imagined. Meet your competitors. Have coffee with them. You’ll feel stronger about your own position.

Are You Worth Your Fee?

A top producer named Frank told me early on, “Your client’s energy bill is not the same as your energy bill.” A fee that looks big to you is small next to what the right hire is worth to the company. See it through your client’s eyes. Most of the time, when you place someone, the client gets more than they pay for.

Do Candidates Benefit? Do Thank You Notes Matter?

Any candidate who talks with you is lucky to hear your advice. Even 30 days in, you know the market better than they do. And keep your thank you notes. I have mine going back to 1986. As Les Brown says, “In the good times you put it in your pocket; in the tough times, you’ll put it in your heart.” Yes, it matters. You will influence more lives, careers and companies than in almost any other field.

You can read my full interview with Ralph here: Recruiting’s Wise Old Man Explains His Success.

This article first ran on ERE in November 2007. You can read the original on ERE here: https://www.ere.net/articles/good-questions-to-ask-yourself.

I’m Joe Pelayo, an executive recruiter for 40 years and founder of Joseph Michaels International here in Dallas. We recruit for roles with base pay from 75K to 2 million, and one call to me reaches our network of 700 recruiters. Right now we have 1,619 open jobs.

Let’s Talk

Want an honest conversation about your career or your next hire? Call me.

Call me at 1-800-786-1099 or email info@josephmichaels.com.

Joseph Michaels International, 13355 Noel Road Suite 1360, Dallas, TX 75240