We have gone from one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country's history to one of the highest in recent memory in just the past couple of months due to the pandemic. While many of these jobs will come back, sadly many others are gone for good as businesses close up shop. So, now seems like a perfect time to share some of the lessons from my book “Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You.”

I wanted to title the book “Getting a Job Is a Job,” but the publisher rejected that title since they thought people would be turned off if they had to work to get a job. But that’s exactly my point. Finding a job -- a job you really want -- is hard work. You have to get a routine and stick to it. And it can be a 10- to 12-hour-a-day proposition. Get in shape. Reconstruct your attitude. Mobilize your network. Plan your attack and get hired. How you spend your days will determine how you spend your life.

As for your attitude, remember that everyone gets rejected. You can’t take it personally. Analyze every failure, but never wallow in one. Remember your past achievements and how you felt.

Working on your network might be the best thing you can do, because two-thirds of all jobs are found through networking. Often, it’s not what you know but who you know. The big thing is to get to know them before you need them. Join every networking website you can find, like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, that can enhance your network. Webinars and virtual meet-ups are replacing trade shows and conventions and are a great way to expand your brand. Be visible. Be a resource. You need to sow your network so you will be able to sew up a job when you need it.

Just remember, countless people have torpedoed their chances by uploading career-suicide videos and party antics. Companies want to hire pros who are linked into the latest technology, not junkies who are hooked on it.

The average person today will make 12 to 15 different job changes and five to seven career changes. Many desirable jobs today didn’t exist 10 years ago, so think outside the box about jobs that could exist in a few short years. The world of work will look vastly different with the “new normal” that we are facing as we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis.

If you need to retool your job skills, now is the time to start switching gears. Think about how your current responsibilities would fit into a different pathway. Consider a total career change drawing on a hobby or volunteer experience. Your abilities are adaptable to other opportunities, so be creative.

Rehearse job interviews in the privacy of your own home using your smartphone. Invite members of your personal “kitchen cabinet” to pose tough questions and to critique your performance. Check out my Mackay 44 to help you prepare for interviews and the Mackay 22 to debrief yourself after every job interview. Both are available on my website, harveymackayacademy.com under Resources.

Never lie on your resume, but always remember a resume's purpose is to get you an interview and resume work. Few things explode more easily than an overly inflated resume. Use industry-accepted terms to describe what you do. If you try to make yourself seem too special, firms won't know what to make of you.

On resumes and in interviews, point to specifics in your achievements -- the more measurable, the better. If you're a manager, showcase the people you've developed in your career and where they are today.

Respect your references. Recruiters check out these resources more thoroughly than ever before. Make sure your praise-singers know in advance that you're listing them and how appreciative you are of their help. Firms will also contact people who aren't your supporters.

Dress like a mess and you won’t see success. Even if your interview is virtual, resist the urge to dress professionally only from the waist up.

You may not be interviewing for a sales job, but you have to be a great salesperson to sell yourself. Competition is fierce, but you need to be fierce also.

Mackay's Moral: It bears repeating, getting a job is a job.

There are only three pure colors -- red, blue and yellow -- but look at what Michelangelo did with those three colors. There are only seven notes, but look at what Chopin, Beethoven and Vivaldi did with those seven notes. President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address contained fewer than 275 words, and most of them had one syllable. Think of the impact those simple, direct words have had on our society. There are only 10 numerals, but look at what Bernie Madoff did with them. Never mind ... that was way too creative.

My point is that creativity is very basic, incredibly necessary and all too rare in business.

The American Marketing Association did a study several years back, asking 500 CEOs and company presidents: What do you have to do to survive the next five years? A whopping 81% said creativity and vision. Now get this: Of the 500 surveyed, 81% of them said that their company was not doing a good job at it.

When I speak publicly, my first lesson is always creativity. I feel it is that important. There is no correlation between IQ and creativity. Every single person reading this column can become much more creative than they ever imagined.

Statistics indicate that between the ages of 5 and 17, there is an extreme decline in a person’s creativity level. And as we age, our creativity drops even more. Don’t let it. Get rid of that “we-are-not-creative” attitude.

As Dr. Seuss said: “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think if only you try!”

I love to study creative companies. My theory is that they have what it takes to be successful because their customers appreciate the thought that goes into their products and services. Wouldn’t these creative signs for businesses attract your attention?

A tire shop in Milwaukee advertises: “Invite us to your next blowout.”

A towing company claims: “We don’t charge an arm and a leg. We want your tows.”

At a car dealership: “The best way to get back on your feet: miss a car payment.”

Outside a muffler shop: “No appointment necessary. We’ll hear you coming.”

On a plumber’s truck: “We repair what your husband fixed.”

Print shop sign: “Price, quality, delivery ... pick two out of three.”

At an optometrist’s office: “If you don’t see what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place.”

On a maternity room door: “Push ... Push ... Push.”

In a veterinarian’s waiting room: “Be back in 5 minutes. SIT!!! STAY!!!”

In a podiatrist’s office: “Time wounds all heels.”

At an electric company: “We would be de-lighted if you pay your bill on time. However, if you don’t, you will be.”

On a taxidermist’s window: “We really know our stuff.”

Let me tell you about one of the most creative people I’ve ever met. On a trip to New York, I was shocked to get into a shiny, clean cab, with a stereo playing beautiful music. The smartly dressed driver handed me a laminated card and said: “Hi, I’m Wally, your driver." On the card was his mission statement. A mission statement! It said he was going to get me to my destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible, in a friendly environment.

As we pulled away, he asked me if I was hungry. As I recall, he had an apple, banana and a Snickers candy bar. Then he asked if I would like to read something, and he had that day’s editions of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today laid out on the seat.

A short while later, he asked me if I had a favorite kind of music I would like to listen to -- symphony, Broadway, rock and so on. As if that weren’t enough, Wally asked if the temperature was comfortable for me.

By now, I was going crazy. I asked Wally how long he had been doing this, and he said a couple years. I asked him where he learned to do all this, and he said he heard it on TV from a self-improvement guru.

It was none of my business, but I had to ask Wally how much extra he gets in tips each year because of all his efforts. He said $20,000 to $25,000.

Trust me, creativity like that is priceless!

Mackay’s Moral: If necessity is the mother of invention, creativity is the fairy godmother.

Of all the creatures that came to the watering hole, Frog was the only one that did not have a tail. The other animals taunted him over it, making him feel inferior and ugly. So Frog visited the Sun God and asked him for a tail. The Sun God granted Frog his wish, on the condition that Frog watch over the Sun God’s special lagoon. Frog agreed.

Soon, a terrible drought seized the area, and the Sun God’s lagoon was the only watering hole available for many miles. Creatures from all over the land came to Frog’s new home in need of water. But Frog was very full of himself with his new long tail and his powerful position as keeper of the only watering hole. And because he had never forgotten how the other creatures teased him, he turned away every animal from the lagoon without giving them so much as a sip.

After a while, word of Frog’s antics reached the Sun God, who decided to verify this behavior firsthand. He found Frog swishing through the water, gleefully flaunting his tail. As the Sun God approached the water’s edge, he heard Frog shout, “Whoever you are, move along! This water is not for you! This special lagoon is mine to do with as I please because I am the most beautiful of all creatures.”

Angered, the Sun God exiled Frog and cursed him for the rest of his days. Now, every spring Frog is born a tadpole with a long tail. As he grows, the tail shrinks until it disappears -- to remind Frog that the only reward for spiteful and arrogant behavior is the loss of things one truly cherishes in life.

This folktale is all about staying humble, which can be hard to do in a culture that encourages competition and individuality. Ideally, we are expected to succeed and yet stay humble. That is easier said than done for some people.

Thomas J. Watson Jr., former chairman of IBM Corporation and ambassador to Russia, said his father frequently used to say, “Everyone should take a step backwards every once in a while and watch himself walk by.”

Staying humble is an important virtue. Even if you think you excel at something, there is probably someone who is better. Remember that there are many things that you cannot do. Recognize and accept your limitations. And while we all have talents, everyone also has defects.

I remember when I was first starting out in business, after college. I’ve always said, I thought I would start at the top and work my way up. I had chapped lips from kissing the mirror too much. But did I learn quickly about being humble!

When people ask me now to describe myself in one word, that word is grateful. I know that many people helped me along the way, from supportive parents to mentors and friends. Many people helped shape who I have become. I wish I could take all the credit, but experience has taught me that my life would be markedly different without all that valuable support. Seeing what all those folks have contributed reminds me that I could never have managed alone.

Whenever I speak to corporate audiences I say, “Anyone who thinks he or she is indispensable should stick their finger in a bowl of water and notice the hole it leaves when they pull it out.” No one is irreplaceable, no matter what they think.

Truly humble people also understand they need to avoid bragging, no matter what their talents or status. I’m all in favor of a healthy self-esteem, but you don’t need to continuously bring attention to your achievements.

That’s what humorist Will Rogers meant when he said, “Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.” I couldn’t agree more.

One of my favorite baseball players was Boston Red Sox Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski. As he approached hit number 3,000, reporters hounded him with questions. One reporter asked, “Aren’t you afraid of all this attention going to your head?”

Yastrzemski said, “I look at it this way. I’ve been at bat over 10,000 times. That means I’ve failed 7,000 times at the plate. That fact alone will prevent me from getting a swollen head.”

Mackay’s Moral: Humble pie is nourishment for a big ego.