When recruiters ask about teamwork, build your answer on these 3 principles

If you're in the midst of a job interview, what's the difference between an "okay" response and one that earns a big thumbs-up from a recruiter? That's an urgent question at any career stage, but it's especially vital for college students and other career starters.

Fortunately, there's good advice to be found from campus recruiters at companies such as Disney, Amazon and Frontier Communications. They interact with thousands of students each year -- and I've been collecting their pointers. In this article, I'll share their tips, as well as some engaging, how-to-do-it videos that standout students have created.

Consider the common behavioral-interview question: "Can you tell me about a time you used teamwork to solve a problem?" Recruiters like that question because it mirrors the nature of many corporate jobs. Not every task goes as planned. When something misfires, solutions must be found. A single person's heroic work usually won't save the day. Instead, teammates need to pitch in together to make everything right, dividing up tasks and making use of different areas of expertise.

Creating a solid answer starts with recreating a crisis -- and a recovery strategy -- from a summer job, a class project or any other activity. You'll be well-served with the classic STAR format: situation, task, action, result. Make sure to explain the specific role that you played in getting everything on track. And if you've got a moment at the end, tie your story to a broader business goal like meeting deadlines or satisfying customers.

If you're looking for an extra edge, consider this pointer from Disney recruiter Mandy Seligman. At the beginning, "be really good at explaining the problem," she says. If you're clear and keep your message concise, you aren't just winning the recruiter's attention. You're showing the sorts of crisp communication skills that mean you can work well with others, and perhaps even play a leadership role.

When you recount your team's solution, share some insights about the role that you played, and why you chose it. "The why is most important," says David Mowell, head of talent acquisition for Frontier Communications. It helps recruiters understand the values that motivate you -- so they can envision roles at the company where you might be especially effective. Even a simple story about helping to get car unstuck in a swampy national park can reveal a lot about your character. If you're the clever one who knew how to rig up a motorized winch, explain that. If you're the loyal one who pushed from the back and put up with mud splatters because it would help the team, say so.

Finally, "be mindful of your environment," says Sara Sparhawk, a leading recruiter on Amazon's university team. If you're carrying out a video interview -- which is becoming more common these days -- test your lighting ahead of time so that you don't end up being darkly silhouetted or drenched in glare. Make sure your background is simple and distraction-free. Adjust your webcam or smartphone until you're certain that your head and shoulders are fully within the field of view. And pay extra attention to your sound levels, so that your voice is clear and well-modulated.

It may take a few practice runs to get everything just right, but that's fine. As you work through the technical aspects and your own story-telling, you'll reach that good zone where your answers are engaging and fluid. You won't use the exact same words every time, but you'll move through your main points with a freshness and authenticity that play well. Even a minor stumble isn't necessarily a flaw; if you recover quickly, that makes you seem genuine and well-composed.

What kinds of answers impress recruiters? Seligman, Mowell and Sparhawk have just finished reviewing clusters of one-minute student videos that answer the "teamwork" question. All of these were posted on students' LinkedIn profiles as part of #AceTheInterview, an initiative that helps students sharpen their job-interviewing skills by using the LinkedIn platform to get feedback from peers and mentors -- as well as a chance to connect directly with high-profile recruiters. (You can learn more about #AceTheInterview via this article or by watching this video.)

#AceTheInterview is running in two waves, with one batch of student videos due March 2 (there's still time to participate!) and another batch already having been submitted by a Feb. 9 deadline. In the first batch, Disney's Seligman and Amazon's Sparhawk both liked this entry by Ruth Lora, a University of Miami business student.

In this video, Lora describes the way that she helped fix an employee perks program during a summer job, so that it would be easier for a company's factory workers to participate, too. Her team's solution involved building a mobile app, so that people on the go could get involved, instead of having a desktop-only solution that catered to office workers. Pay special attention to the way Lora summarized her key learnings at the end. "That's nice to highlight," says Amazon's Sparhawk.

Another standout is this video by Kevin Catete de la Rosa, a finance student at the University of Central Florida. In it, he shares a work story from his days at a community college, doing campus outreach on behalf of school programs. His extra touch: an impromptu analysis of campus foot traffic so that his team's informational posters would be put up in the most-viewed locations. Both Frontier's Mowell and Disney's Seligman liked his style -- and will be making time for one-on-one phone consultations about his career goals and options.

If you're a student or career starter with a story to share, give #AceTheInterview a try. Many of the entries are coming from students at four-year colleges, but I'm just as eager to see entries from people at community colleges, digital academies or other career-readiness programs. Do submit your work by the March 2 deadline. More information about the program is in this article and this video.

Several of the current recruiter/judges will be returning for a second round, and I'll be adding new ones as well. They're eager to help you take the next step forward as your career opportunities take shape.