But then I start to panic because I haven't been in a newsroom in almost 10 years and sure, I've freelanced and taken on community projects, but who's going to hire me? And yeah, I write about business and careers, but do you think I've taken my sources' advice (or the advice in my own stories) and updated my resume?! Of course not! And do I want to go back to what I was doing when I left to have children? I don't know. But do I want to keep doing what I'm doing now when I worry that this isn't going to support me and may not even be what I want to do anyway….

AAAAHHHH! Can anybody help me?

Martha Russell says she can. Russell is president of the National Career Development Association (www.ncda.org) and a longtime career counselor. As such, she's made a career of working with people just like me, who may need help with some basic job-search techniques (like spiffing up that woefully outdated resume), with managing their careers (in my case, figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my life), or with both.

"Career counselors can be a valuable asset," says Russell, who also heads Russell Career Services near Portland, OR. "They're available no matter what your issue is."

OK, but how do I find one? I mean, when I typed "career counselor" into Google, I got 1.25 million hits. Million. That's daunting.

Perhaps I should narrow my search. Russell tells me to ask friends and colleagues for referrals. To check with local community colleges or universities. To visit the NCDA website. Or even to pick up my local Yellow Pages and let my fingers do the walking. And I don't have to do this blindly! Both she and Janet Scarborough, founder of Bridgeway Career Development (www.bridgewaycareer.com) near Seattle and a PhD in counseling psychology, have offered a roadmap to help make my search easier. It'll help you, too.

First, know what to look for.

When I begin shopping for a career counselor, I should pay attention to details. Like:

• What kind of college degree does the counselor have? (It should be a master's degree in a "helping" profession like counseling or education, Scarborough says.)
• Is he or she licensed?
• Do my prospects have ethical guidelines, and will they give me copies of these?
• Do they have special certifications offered by reputable organizations? (Think the NCDA's Master Career Counselor or Master Career Development Professional designations.) "Those mean something," Scarborough says.

Know what a counselor does.

A career counselor will assess my interests, my values and my skills. He or she will help me focus on what I want in a career. A counselor will help me advance my career or move it "from good to fabulous," Scarborough says.

But a counselor won't do my work for me. (So I can just kiss away all hopes that someone else will tackle my mangled resume.) "I'll hold you accountable," Russell says. "It's a shared responsibility."

A counselor also won't guarantee me a job. I need to understand right now, Scarborough says, that she is not a recruiter. Her clients are jobseekers, not companies. Neither is she a career coach, although the distinctions there are a little less clear cut.

Know what to avoid.

In a word, promises. No one can guarantee a job in six easy steps or five fabulous weeks. In fact, Russell says, I should avoid "any promise other than, 'I'm going to try to provide good service.'"

Know what questions to ask.

There's only one that matters: Can I trust this person?

"The chemistry is very unique between counselor and client matches," Scarborough says. "The only way to know is by working with that person."

So can I ask for an introductory meeting to feel a prospective counselor out?

It depends. Many of the most successful counselors are booked solid and don't have time for prospective clients to interview them, Scarborough says. But Russell tells me to go ahead and ask if I can have a complementary, face-to-face meeting where I can ask questions, find out about the practitioner's process and gauge how well we're connecting.

I can also feel free to ask for references (which, being a reporter, I'm bound to do). But I shouldn't expect much. Counseling, by its nature, is steeped in confidentiality so many counselors are reluctant to share client names. And if they do, "recognize the names I give you will think I'm wonderful," Russell says.

Know what I'll pay for.

OK, so if I may not get to interview a counselor before hiring one, and if I may not get to check references, how can I avoid getting locked into a long-term contract with someone I end up disliking?

Ah, say Russell and Scarborough. This is why I need to avoid the one-size-fits-all, pay-me-a-huge-chunk-of-money-and-I'll-guarantee-you-a-job package. Most career counselors charge a per-session fee (typically ranging from $75 to $300 an hour, Scarborough says) that is reasonable for their market and level of experience. So, if I only need one session to review my resume, I'll only pay for one session. Or if I just don't click with the counselor I've hired, I can opt out after a single session.

Know what to expect.

Career counselors can address the details of my job search (that resume!) and the broader strokes (what do I really want to do?). But they won't sugar-coat any of it. After all, "change can be anxiety-producing," Scarborough says. So I may be in for some anxiety.

But that discomfort should come from the work, not from any sense that I'm being coddled or -- worse yet -- ignored.

"What you want to look for is a career counselor who is going to pay attention to what your goals are," Russell says. "The main thing is you want to know that when you're with your career counselor, your career counselor is really listening to you."

Susan Bowles is a business journalist based in Washington, DC. She has 20 years journalism experience and has written for USA Today, USATODAY.com, the Washington Post, the St. Petersburg Times and The Palm Beach Post.