In last week’s State of the Union speech President Obama focused a lot of attention on jobs. He pushed for Congress to pass the $154 billion jobs bill and proposed tax cuts for small businesses investors and talked about funding for community banks.

Although these steps are critical building blocks to a recovery, the reality is that there is only so much the government can do. At the end of the day we all have a responsibility to take care of ourselves and our families. In other words, if you want to get back in the game you can’t afford to wait for the government to bail you out.

With all the talk about the recession ending and a recovery on the horizon, it’s easy to forget this is likely to be a jobless recovery. Jobs aren’t coming back anytime soon and many of the ones eliminated will likely never return. As a stark reminder, 43 states reported a rise in unemployment for December. Just this week Sam’s Club, Home Depot, and Verizon announced major job cuts for 2010.

The competition for your career is getting tougher by the moment. You are going to have to start thinking differently about what your career means to you and how to best create the opportunities necessary to advance yourself. 

Thriving in the New Economy is going to require an entrepreneurial mindset. It’s no longer about chasing opportunities, it’s about creating them. The old mentality of re-write your resume and brush up those interview skills will no longer cut it in this environment! If you aspire to transcend the madness of the Great Recession you are going to have to be proactive, creative, and focused.

At a national level the Administration has outlined a plan. It is now up to you to create an individual level plan that best suits your needs. No one is going to do it for you! A successful career launch (or re-launch) means creating a plan for you, by you.  January just ended, so you’d better have your career resolutions in place. Take some time to revisit those career resolutions and sketch out that plan! Don’t sit back and wait, because nobody is going to do it for you. Get started on your YOU Plan for twenty-ten now!!!