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Do you recall Barbara Walters asking the "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?" question in interviews in the 80s? Since then, the Tech industry has been the lead in offbeat, creative interview questions, but they have their place in the interview process for any employer.

The job interview is the employer's opportunity to get to know the candidate better through answers to questions and reactions to challenges and inquiries, as well as gestures and body language. Candidates may be nervous and fidgety, or relaxed and confident, and the interviewer gets to see and evaluate the candidate's demeanor. How a candidate reacts to standard interview questions and scenarios may be very different than how he or she reacts to unusual or creative interview questions, and can reveal how well they handle unexpected situations and how creative they are.

Why Use Creative Questions

Creative interview questions are often used to gauge culture fit, says OI Partners managing partner Susan Ruhl. Creative questions about how to do something are designed to see how candidates work and think about work and reveal not only knowledge but also problem solving skills and thought processes. Look for candidates who use good logic and creativity to answer puzzle questions and who stay unflustered and in control during interviews.

Asking nontraditional questions in interviews gives hiring managers the chance to see candidate traits that might not come up otherwise. How many behavioral interview questions show if a candidate is good at math or willing to admit math is not a strong suit as questions with math problems in them? How can you best understand a candidate's work ethic and motivation without asking an offbeat question like "If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?"

Glassdoor's Top 10

Each year, the career community Glassdoor asks job candidates about the oddest and most creative interview questions they've been asked so job seekers and hiring managers alike can see what kind of questions are being used. 2015's top 10 questions included "Who would win a fight between Spider Man and Batman?" asked by Stanford University, "What did you have for breakfast?" asked by Banana Republic, and "What's Your Favorite Disney Princess?" by Redbox.

Jeanne Sahadi of CNNMoney advises job seekers to carefully answer creative interview questions rather than guess or reply with "I don't know" because employers want to see how you react. They want to see you in action to better understand how you'd fit with their culture, what your work ethic is, and how you think and solve problems.

Top Oddball Tech Job Interview Questions

CIO.com managing editor Rich Hein says that candidates can't really prepare for oddball interview questions, but should be ready for them. Twitter asked software engineer candidates "Why is the earth round?" and Zappos asked financial analyst candidates "How many gas stations are there in America?" It's not as much about giving the right answer as it is about being able to answer and show how you arrived at your answer. Dropbox asked its rotation program candidates "If you woke up and had 2000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them, how would you choose which ones to answer?"

Last Year's Questions

Last year's creative interview questions include gems like Xerox's "Why is a tennis ball fuzzy?" and AirBnb's "How lucky are you and why?"

Here's a list of actual creative interview questions you may want to use in interviews:

"If you were a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors?" -Apple, Specialist interview.

"If you could sing one song on American Idol, what would it be?" -Red Frog Events, Event Coordinator interview.

"Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer?" -Dell, Account Manager interview.

"If you were on an island and could only bring three things, what would you bring?" -Yahoo, Search Quality Analyst interview.

"If you were a box of cereal, what would you be and why?" -Bed Bath & Beyond, Sales Associate interview.

"Do you believe in Bigfoot?" -Norwegian Cruise Line, Casino Marketing Coordinator interview.

"What is your least favorite thing about humanity?" -ZocDoc, Operations Associate interview.

"How many square feet of pizza are eaten in the U.S. each year?" -Goldman Sachs, Programmer Analyst interview.

"Can you instruct someone how to make an origami 'cootie catcher' with just words?" -LivingSocial, Consumer Advocate interview.

"If you were 80 years old, what would you tell your children?" -McKinsey & Company, Associate interview.

Standard interviewing questions and Behavioral Interviewing certainly should be your mainstay, but don't be afraid to experiment with unique, creative interview questions. Candidates are multi-dimensional, and attacking an interview from different angles and perspectives can help paint a more complete picture of a candidate.

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Do you recall Barbara Walters asking the "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?" question in interviews in the 80s? Since then, the Tech industry has been the lead in offbeat, creative interview questions, but they have their place in the interview process for any employer.

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Job interviews are exciting and anxiety-inducing at the very same time: Landing one means you've made it past the initial application stage and into the more exclusive "yes" pile, but it also means preparing for those all-too-familiar questions about your strengths, your weaknesses-yeah, you know the drill.
Related: 7 Ways To Talk About Your Athletic Experience On A Job Interview
But what if, halfway through your interview, the hiring manager surprised you with an unexpectedly interesting question-a fun interview question that energized you and got your creative juices flowing? The good news is that hiring managers really are asking questions like this in interviews today, and while they might catch you off-guard, they'll also give you a chance to loosen up, and the interviewer a chance to learn more about the real you.

So, take some time to think about the interview questions that you'll actually enjoy answering, like the 36 real-life Qs we've gathered here from Glassdoor, Quora, Vault, and FlexJobs. We promise you'll enjoy practicing your answers to these ones:

1. Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer?

2. You're a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?

3. We finish the interview and you step outside the office and find a lottery ticket that ends up winning $10 million. What would you do?

4. What do you think about when you're alone in your car?

5. What's your favorite '90s jam?

6. If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be and why?

7. What was the last gift you gave someone?

8. What were you like in high school?

9. What's the last thing you watched on TV and why did you choose to watch it?

10. Any advice for your previous boss?

11. Tell me something about your last job, other than money, that would have inspired you to keep working there.

12. What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently?

13. What do you want to be when you grow up?

14. Which two organizations outside your own do you know the most people at and why?

15. Pretend you're our CEO. What three concerns about the firm's future keep you up at night?

16. If I were to hire you for this job and I granted you three promises with regard to working here, what would they be?

17. If you don't get this job, what's your backup plan?

18. What inspires you?

19. Teach me something I don't know in the next five minutes.

20. What are you known for?

21. What do you work toward in your free time?

22. What's the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn't learn from your resume alone?

23. How would you rate your memory?

24. Code something from scratch in three hours. Then explain your design and solution.

25. If you woke up and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them, how would you choose which ones to answer?

26. How many pennies would fit into this room?

27. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday?

28. Estimate how many windows are in New York.

29. How would you value the store on the corner?

30. How many square feet of pizza is eaten in the U.S. each year?

31. Describe the color yellow to somebody who is blind.

32. If you were to get rid of one state in the U.S., which would it be and why?

33. You've been given an elephant. You can't give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant?

34. Who would win a fight between Spiderman and Batman?

35. How would you convince someone to do something they didn't want to do?

36. A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?

Related: The Surprising Way You Ruined Your Interview Before You Even Opened Your Mouth
This article originally appeared on Levo and is reprinted with permission.
Have You Mastered The Art Of Interviewing? Find Out:

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36 Interview Questions That Are Actually Fun To Answer

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Job interviews are exciting and anxiety-inducing at the very same time: Landing one means you've made it past the initial application stage and into the more exclusive "yes" pile, but it also means preparing for those all-too-familiar questions about your strengths, your weaknesses-yeah, you know the drill.

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