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.

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 done a Catchafire call before:

Everything about selecting times and confirming a match stays exactly the same.

Once you've matched on a call or been invited to interview, the Organization will propose several times to speak. You'll get an email letting you know, and the invitation will also be waiting on your dashboard.

Check your calendar, then select the time that works for you. You'll see a Video conference label on the scheduling page confirming this call will happen over video.

💡Tip: Take note of the time zone when you select. The Organization's time zone is shown right alongside their name.

If none of the proposed times work, select Send Alternatives on your dashboard and offer a handful of your own. You can edit your time zone at the top of that page.

Once the time is set, you'll both receive a confirmation email with the date and time in your own time zone, plus a link to join. The confirmation also appears on your dashboard.

Both the confirmation email and your dashboard include an option to add the call to your calendar, so the details and the join link stay with the rest of your day.

We'll send you two reminders before every call:

Each reminder includes a Join the meeting button, so you can get in from whichever email is closest at hand.

The most successful calls happen when both sides come prepared. Look at the Organization's website, review the questions they'd like to cover, and send along any resources ahead of time through your Message portal.

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:

When you're ready, select Join meeting.

💡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.

If you've used Zoom or Google Meet, this will feel familiar. Your controls sit along the bottom of the screen.

Screen sharing is worth calling out. Organizations see you as the expert, and showing your work is usually faster than describing it.

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 be asked whether the call went well. It takes one click, and it's the fastest way to tell us when something isn't working on our end.

If you interviewed for a project, the Organization will decide from here whether to move forward with you or to keep interviewing other candidates. You'll hear either way.

Organizations often ask what to do after a call. Use the Catchafire Project Menu as a resource while advising them, and help them pick their next great project.

If the Organization doesn't need a full project but you'd like to hold a follow-up call or do some additional advising, you're welcome to. Organizations understand you volunteered for the call you signed up for, so anything beyond that is entirely up to you.

If you couldn't get into the call, or the connection dropped and you couldn't get back:

Need to reschedule or cancel? You can do both from your dashboard. It's always worth sending the Organization 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.