Quick: What bid would you offer your city for washing all the windows of every commercial building?

In today's job market, skills, degrees and even a pleasant interview might not be enough to land a job; what jobseekers really need to set them apart is creativity.

"With so much competition in the marketplace right now, employers are looking for people who are not only skilled in whatever role they're applying for but are also able to bring new value to the workplace through their ideas and insights," says Todd Henry, author of "The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at Moment's Notice" (Portfolio Hardcover, 2011)."In many ways, the job-seeking process is your opportunity to show off the unique creative value an employer will gain from hiring you."

More often than not, workers must make decisions without the luxury of time or a quiet space. Henry says more employers now ask complex questions in interviews that require problem-solving skills in order to gauge how employees will respond on the spot.

"Anyone could be required to be brilliant at a moment's notice in order to meet a client expectation, sell new business or solve an organizational problem," he says. "What better way to gauge that skill than in an interview?"

Many people have experienced the feeling of freezing up when put on the spot. But practice can produce the familiarity and relaxation to respond with confidence. The idea of practicing spontaneity might seem counterintuitive, but Marlene Caroselli, author of "The Critical Thinking Toolkit: Spark Your Team's Creativity with 35 Problem Solving Activities" (AMACOM, 2011), says simple exercises can make a big difference in a jobseeker's interview readiness.

For one exercise, she recommends jobseekers grab a friend to stare them down and give them 10 seconds to name five of something, such as five famous people whose names start with a vowel. Other examples include naming five midsize cars, rivers west of the Mississippi or world capitals. "If you rehearse, you can reach a point where you are not thrown by the unexpected," she says.

In another exercise, Caroselli suggests someone give the jobseeker two unrelated words and asks them to draw a transition or connection between them. For example, if the words given were "spider" and "computer," she recommends steering clear of obvious answers like "there could be a spider on my computer," to think more deeply - for example, comparing how computers and a spider webs can both be beautiful yet ensnaring devices.

And the skyscraper question? For challenging interview questions, Caroselli says often the employer isn't looking for an answer; the trick is to think out loud and demonstrate creativity through the steps you would take to solve the problem.