You can bill $500k. Run a team. Win clients. Get praise from candidates.

And still sit there thinking:

“Someone’s eventually going to realise I’ve got no idea what I’m doing.”

That’s impostor syndrome.

And recruitment is the perfect breeding ground for it.

Because this industry is emotional as hell.

One minute you’re the hero.
Next minute a placement falls over, a candidate criticises how you work, or a client questions your fee and suddenly your confidence gets body slammed.

I see it constantly when coaching recruiters.

Not just junior recruiters either. Senior billers. Agency owners. Old salty dogs.
People everyone else looks at and thinks:

“They’ve got it sorted.”

Some do, many don’t – they’ve just learnt how to manage that little voice in their head better.

And that’s the key.

Because impostor syndrome doesn’t magically disappear once you hit a certain billing number.

It just changes shape.

The recruiter doing their first cold call feels it.
The recruiter launching their own agency feels it.
The recruiter trying to step into leadership feels it.

Psychologists Dr Pauline Clance and Dr Suzanne Imes first identified impostor syndrome back in the late 1970s. They described it as high-achieving people struggling to internalise their success, despite clear evidence they’re capable.

Sound familiar?

In recruitment, it usually shows up like this:

• Overthinking every client email
• Feeling “behind” compared to other recruiters
• Taking rejection personally
• Thinking one bad month means you’re not cut out for recruitment
• Constantly comparing yourself to recruiters on LinkedIn
• Needing validation before making decisions
• Feeling like your success is luck instead of skill
• Labelling yourself as “just a recruiter”

But here’s the thing:

Self-doubt isn’t proof you’re incapable, instead it’s usually a pretty good indicator that you genuinely care about the results you’re producing. And this is a good thing. The issue is when you let that doubt drive the car.

So, here’s how I coach recruiters through it.

1. Stop Treating Every Bad Day Like a Career Diagnosis

This is one of the biggest traps in recruitment.

One placement falls over and suddenly:
“I’m sh*t at recruitment.”

A client pushes back on fees:
“I’m not experienced enough – I suck at negotiating.”

You have a slow month:
“Everyone else is so much better than me.”

Psychologist Dr Aaron Beck – one of the founders of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – called this cognitive distortion.

Basically: your brain takes one event and turns it into a full-blown identity statement and recruitment tends to amplify this because the feedback loop can be brutal and immediate.

But one tough week doesn’t define your capability.

It defines a single, bad moment.

That’s it. Don’t let a bad moment become a bad day and a bad day become a bad week.

The recruiters who last in this industry learn how to separate:
“What happened” from “Who I am.”

2. Build Evidence, Not Emotion

Most recruiters try to fight impostor syndrome emotionally.

Confidence and belief aren’t built through motivational quotes or good intent. They’re built through evidence.

Small proof. Repeated consistently.

Psychologist Albert Bandura called this “self-efficacy” – your belief in your ability grows through repeated successful experiences.

That’s why small wins matter. They literally retrain your brain.

So instead of obsessing over:
“Can I bill $500k?”

Focus on:

• Did I make the calls?
• Did I follow the process?
• Did I book the meeting?
• Did I ask better questions today?
• Did I handle rejection better this week?

The best recruiters I know don’t rely on mood. They rely on process and process is what creates stability when your confidence wobbles.

3. Stop Comparing Your Behind-The-Scenes to Someone Else’s Highlight Reel

LinkedIn has cooked a lot of recruiters.

Everyone’s posting:

• Big deals
• Record months
• Promotions
• Revenue screenshots
• “Humbled and honoured” posts

Meanwhile, you’re sitting there wondering why your desk feels so bloody hard. I still do this sometimes and 99% of the time I am super happy with where I am at in my career!

Here’s the bit that you need to know though: You’re comparing your internal chaos to someone else’s curated highlight reel.

Humans pretty naturally compare themselves to others to measure success. I think it can be both a good and bad thing. But the issue now?

Social media means Recruiters can do it 24/7.

And constant comparison destroys perspective.

You don’t see:

• Their anxiety
• Their missed deals
• Their sleepless nights
• Their self-doubt
• Their stress at home

You just see the polished version.

Good recruiters learn from others. Unhealthy recruiters measure their worth against them.

Big difference.

4. Speak About It Instead of Hiding It

This one matters more than recruiters realise.

Impostor syndrome grows in silence.

The second recruiters start talking honestly, they realise:
“Holy sht… everyone feels this sometimes.”

Even top performers. Especially top performers.

We all have a “common humanity” – the understanding that struggle is part of being human, not proof you’re uniquely broken.

If you can really understand that perspective, it changes everything.

Because once you stop hiding the fear, you stop giving it any power over you.

I’ve seen recruiters completely shift just from hearing another recruiter say:
“Mate, I feel that too.”

That conversation alone can remove months of internal pressure as you realise you’re not alone. And genuinely, you’re not. We’ve all been there. We’ve all made mistakes, had self-doubt, questioned why we’re still in this industry.

5. Expand Your Identity Beyond Recruitment

This is a massive one.

Too many recruiters tie their entire self-worth to their desk performance.

Good month = life’s good.
Bad month = identity crisis.

That’s super f*cking dangerous.

Recruitment is by nature unpredictable because you’re working with a “product” (for lack of a better expression) that is other humans. Who are also, by nature, unpredictable.

You can do everything right and still lose due to something completely out of your control.

So if your only identity is:
“I am my billing number”
you’ll constantly feel emotionally exposed.

The recruiters who stay mentally strong long term usually have other anchors too:

• Fitness
• Family
• Purpose
• Hobbies
• Routine
• Community
• Health
• Personal growth

Recruitment becomes a small part of who they are.
Not their entire identity.

That separation creates more resilience than you realise.

Practical Exercise: Rebuild Your Evidence

If the above has felt a little too real and impostor syndrome’s hitting hard right now, I want you to do this exercise (and do it properly, give yourself the mental time & space you need).

Grab a notebook or open a blank document.

Then write down:

1. Five placements you’re genuinely proud of

Not just the biggest fees.

Think about:

• The difficult brief you solved
• The candidate whose life changed
• The client who trusted you
• The role nobody else could fill
• The situation you navigated under pressure

Force yourself to acknowledge the skill involved.

2. Three moments where you handled pressure well

Because recruiters forget this part constantly.

Think about:

• Difficult client conversations
• Counteroffers
• Candidate fallout
• Salvaging a process
• Rebuilding momentum after rejection

You’ve already handled more than you give yourself credit for.

3. One thing you can do today that terrified you 12 months ago

This is the important one.

Maybe it’s:

• Business development
• Negotiating fees
• Running retained processes
• Taking client meetings
• Leading a team
• Speaking with senior stakeholders

What feels “normal” now was once uncomfortable.

That’s growth.

4. Ask someone you trust:

“What do you think I’m actually good at in recruitment?”

Most recruiters are terrible at objectively seeing their own strengths.

External perspective helps cut through the noise in your own head.

5. Create an evidence file

Every time:

• A client praises you
• A candidate thanks you
• You hit a goal
• You handle something difficult well
• You step outside your comfort zone

Write it down. Not for your ego. For perspective.

Because impostor syndrome survives when your brain only remembers the negatives.

This will be your cheat sheet everytime that little voice in your head starts giving you sh*t. You can read it and remember that you are capable of a hell of a lot more than the voice in your head is giving you credit for.