Career Counseling

Find clarity about what comes next.

Whether you’re choosing your first direction, considering a career change, or realizing the path you’re on no longer feels right, Career Counseling can help you identify what matters to you, make thoughtful decisions about what comes next, and develop a practical strategy to move forward.

Online Career Counseling for adolescents 16+, college students, & adults in Dallas and throughout Texas.

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Career counseling that goes beyond choosing a job.

Career decisions are rarely just about work.

They can be connected to identity, confidence, family expectations, relationships, burnout, self-worth, financial realities, and the larger question of what you want your life to look like.

We can address all of it and create practical steps toward what comes next.

EXPLORE

Career Exploration
Explore your interests, strengths, values, personality, and possible career directions.

Career Assessments
Use tools such as the Strong Interest Inventory, MBTI, CliftonStrengths, and other assessments when appropriate.

Majors + Educational Paths
Explore college majors, educational options, and potential paths that align with your interests and goals.

TRANSITION

Career Change
Navigate changing priorities, new industries, returning to work, or the realization that your current career no longer fits.

Burnout + Work-Life Alignment
Understand what isn’t working and consider how your career can better support the life you want outside of work.

Professional Growth
Explore advancement, leadership, workplace confidence, professional identity, and what growth looks like for you.

MOVE FORWARD

Résumé + LinkedIn
Strengthen how you communicate your experience, skills, and professional story.

Job-Search Strategy
Create a focused, realistic approach to finding opportunities that align with what you’re looking for.

Interview Preparation
Prepare thoughtfully, communicate your strengths with confidence, and feel more grounded going into interviews.

Your career is a big part of your life. It should feel like it fits.

Move forward with clarity, confidence and purpose.

Whether you're exploring a career change, searching for a new job, preparing for interviews, navigating a promotion, or trying to rediscover fulfillment in your work, career counseling provides support, accountability, and practical strategies to help you move forward.

What makes my approach different is that I'm both a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Certified Coach (ACC).

That means our work together is action-oriented while also recognizing that career decisions are rarely just about resumes and job titles. They often involve confidence, identity, life transitions, values, relationships, and the question, "What kind of life do I want to build?"

Some clients come to career counseling with a clear goal and simply need a trusted guide to help them create a plan and stay accountable. Others need space to think through complex decisions before taking the next step. Together, we'll find the balance that best fits your needs.

Jessica Scott Smith, licensed professional counselor and career counselor in Dallas, Texas

01. I’m trying to figure out what’s next.

You know something needs to change, but you’re not sure what.

Maybe you’re questioning the direction you’ve been heading. Maybe there are several possibilities and you don’t know which one makes sense. Or maybe you simply know that what you’re doing now doesn’t feel quite right anymore.

Together, we can:

  • Clarify your interests, strengths, and values

  • Explore career possibilities

  • Use career assessments when appropriate*

  • Identify what brings meaning and fulfillment

  • Create a more intentional career direction

You don’t need to have the answer before you begin. Sometimes the first step is simply giving yourself space to figure out what you actually want.

BEST FOR: Career exploration · Uncertainty · Feeling stuck · Purpose + fulfillment

*Career assessments can include an additional fee to cover costs of assessment.

Pens in pen holder on Counseling desk. Jessica Scott Smith, LPC, Counselor and Career Counselor in Texas
A wooden desk with a closed laptop, a notebook with a pen on top, a ceramic mug on a coaster, a potted plant, a candle holder, and a lamp near a window.

02. I’m ready for a career change.

Maybe you’re burned out. Maybe your priorities have shifted. Maybe you’ve simply outgrown a role or career that once fit.

Knowing you want something different and knowing what to do next are two very different things.

We’ll work together to:

  • Evaluate possible career paths

  • Identify what you want to be different this time

  • Build confidence in your decision-making

  • Create a realistic transition plan

  • Navigate uncertainty with greater clarity

A career change doesn’t have to mean impulsively starting over. We can thoughtfully explore what you want to move toward- and create a plan for getting there.

BEST FOR: Career transitions · Burnout · Changing industries · Returning to work

03. I’m searching for a new job.

Finding a new job can feel like a job in itself.

Maybe you know exactly what you’re looking for but aren’t sure how to position yourself. Maybe it’s been years since you’ve updated a résumé or interviewed. Or maybe the process itself has started to feel discouraging.

Career counseling can include practical support with:

  • Résumé development

  • LinkedIn optimization

  • Job-search strategy

  • Networking

  • Interview preparation

  • Salary negotiation

  • Accountability and encouragement throughout the process

We can make the process feel more strategic, manageable, and aligned with what you’re actually looking for- rather than sending applications into the void and hoping something sticks.

BEST FOR: Job searches · Résumés + LinkedIn · Interviews · Networking · Salary negotiation

Sunlight streaming through a window with a view of green trees and a blue sky outside.
Stacked notebooks in neutral and dark colors with a pen on top, a ceramic dish with paper clips, and a potted plant on a wooden desk.

04. I’m just beginning to think about my future.

You’re not supposed to have your entire life figured out at 16, 18, 21- or even 25.

For adolescents, college students, and early-career adults, choosing a direction can feel like an enormous decision. There are majors to consider, careers you may know very little about, expectations from other people, and the pressure to somehow choose the “right” path before you’ve had much opportunity to experience it.

Career counseling gives you room to explore.

Together, we can look at:

  • Interests, strengths, values, and personality

  • Possible careers and educational paths

  • Choosing or reconsidering a college major

  • Career assessments when helpful

  • Internships and early work experiences

  • First jobs and job-search strategy

  • Building confidence and professional identity

The goal isn’t to map out the rest of your life.

It’s to understand yourself well enough to take the next thoughtful step.

BEST FOR: Adolescents · High school students · College students · Choosing a major · Early-career adults

05. I’m successful... but something feels off.

Maybe you built the career you were supposed to want.

You worked hard. You became good at what you do. You’re capable, responsible, and functioning- and from the outside, things may even look pretty good.

But privately, you’ve started wondering:

Is this it?

Why doesn’t my work feel meaningful anymore?

Have I outgrown this version of my life?

What do I actually want now?

What do I want the next chapter of my life to look like?

Sometimes the hardest career questions come when nothing is obviously wrong.

You don’t necessarily want to blow up your entire life or walk away from everything you’ve built. You just know that something has shifted- and you want the space to understand what.

Counseling can help you explore what’s changed, reconnect with what matters to you now, and consider what a more meaningful and aligned version of success might look like.

BEST FOR: High achievers · Professionals · Burnout · Feeling unfulfilled · Redefining success · Mid-career transitions

A wooden desk with a closed MacBook, a notebook with a pen, a cup of coffee, a potted plant, a stack of books with a small dish of paper clips, a gold desk lamp, and a person's leg in a beige pants and rust-colored sweater.

Career Counseling FAQs

  • Career counseling can help you better understand your career goals, strengths, values, challenges, and options so you can make more intentional professional decisions. Jessica’s approach also considers the emotional and personal side of work, including identity, burnout, confidence, relationships, and major life transitions.

  • Not at all. Many people seek career counseling precisely because they don’t know what they want next. You can begin with uncertainty. Part of our work can be figuring out what questions you actually need to answer.

  • Yes. Career counseling and therapy can help you explore what is contributing to burnout, including workload, workplace dynamics, boundaries, perfectionism, values misalignment, or whether your current career still fits.

  • Yes. Jessica especially enjoys supporting adults navigating midlife transitions and questions about career, identity, meaning, and purpose. A career change at this stage can involve much more than choosing a new job, and therapy provides space to consider the whole picture.

  • Yes. Career counseling can support early-career professionals who feel uncertain about their direction, are navigating their first major career decisions, or want to build a professional life that better aligns with their strengths and values.

  • Yes. Jessica provides virtual career counseling and therapy for adults located throughout Texas, including Dallas and surrounding communities.

  • Sessions are $165 per session. Jessica is a private-pay provider and does not accept insurance. Documentation can be provided upon request for clients who wish to explore possible out-of-network reimbursement through their insurance plan. Career assessments will be charged separately.

You don’t have to know exactly where you’re going to start.

Whether you’re choosing your first direction or reconsidering one you’ve been on for years, you don’t have to figure out what comes next by yourself.

Career counseling can give you the space to slow down, understand where you are, explore where you want to go, and take your next step with greater clarity and confidence.

Career counseling is available online for adolescents 16+ and adults throughout Texas.

schedule a consultation