Project interviews and 1-hour calls now happen right on Catchafire over video. No dial-in numbers, no PINs, and nothing to download. Read below to learn how to schedule your call, join it, and make the most of the tools inside.
What's Changed
Catchafire calls used to run over the phone. Now they run over video, hosted on the platform.
A few things you may notice if you've scheduled a call with us before:
You no longer need to confirm a phone number when you schedule.
If you're located outside the United States, there's no separate step and no workaround. Video works the same for everyone, everywhere.
You'll join from a link instead of waiting for the platform to call you.
Everything about proposing times and confirming a match stays exactly the same.
Scheduling Your Call
Scheduling works just as it always has. From your dashboard, choose the volunteer you'd like to speak with and select Schedule interview.
On the scheduling page, you'll see a Video conference label near the top. That's your confirmation that this call will happen over video.
Double-check your time zone, then select at least five 30-minute time slots over the next two weeks and send them along.
š”Tip: The volunteer's time zone is shown right next to their name, so you can propose times that work for both of you.
Once you've sent your availability, you'll see a confirmation at the top of the page. We'll notify you as soon as the volunteer picks a slot.
Before the Call
After the volunteer selects a time, you'll both receive a confirmation email with the date and time in your own time zone, plus a link to join. You'll also see the confirmation on your dashboard.
Add it to your calendar
Both the confirmation email and your dashboard include an option to add the call to your calendar, so the details and the join link live alongside the rest of your day.
Reminders
We'll send you two reminders before every call:
One hour before
Ten minutes before
Each reminder includes a Join the meeting button, so you can get in from whichever email is closest at hand.
Share anything ahead of time
If you have an agenda, a document, or a few questions you'd like the volunteer to see first, send them through your Message portal. The most productive calls usually start with a little prep on both sides.
Joining Your Call
When it's time, select Join the meeting from your confirmation email, a reminder email, or your dashboard.
You'll land in a waiting room first. This is your chance to get set before anyone sees or hears you.
From the waiting room you can:
Confirm the meeting name, date, and time
See whether the other person has already joined
Preview your camera and check that you're happy with what's in frame
Choose your microphone, speaker, and camera from the dropdowns below the preview
Turn your microphone or camera off before you enter
When you're ready, select Join meeting.
š”Tip: Your browser will ask for permission to use your camera and microphone the first time you join. Select allow, or you won't be able to be seen or heard. Headphones help too, since they cut down on echo.
During Your Call
If you've used Zoom or Google Meet, this will feel familiar. Your controls sit along the bottom of the screen.
Microphone and camera toggles, to mute or turn off video at any time
Share screen, useful for walking through a document, a spreadsheet, or your website together
CC, which turns on live captioning
Settings, where you can switch your microphone, speaker, or camera mid-call
Chat, on the right, for sending messages, links, and documents without interrupting the conversation
End meeting, when you're finished
After Your Call
When you leave the meeting, you'll land on a short wrap-up page. If you left by accident or got disconnected, select Rejoin to hop straight back in.
You'll also be asked to share how the call went. This takes seconds and it's the fastest way to tell us when something isn't working.
If it was a project interview
You'll be asked to make a decision right there: move forward with this volunteer, or keep interviewing other candidates. You can take your time, and you can always come back to it from your dashboard.
If it was a 1-hour call
You'll be asked to rate your experience with the volunteer from one to five stars. Your rating helps other organizations know who they're working with, so please be candid.
Trouble Connecting?
If you couldn't get into the call, or the connection dropped and you couldn't get back:
Select Rejoin from the wrap-up page, or open your join link again. The meeting stays open for the length of your scheduled time.
Check that your browser has permission to use your camera and microphone.
Try closing other apps that use your camera, since only one can use it at a time.
Message the other party through your Message portal to let them know what happened and agree on a new time.
Need to reschedule or cancel? You can do both from your dashboard under the Interview actions menu. It's always worth sending the other party a quick message too.
Still stuck? Reply to this article or email us at [email protected] with the name of the call and what you're seeing, and we'll get you connected.