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Attending via Video on Handshake

Tawnya
  • Updated

When you join a video session on Handshake, you're able to connect virtually with employers and your school's career services team online.

Handshake uses Daily as its video provider for virtual sessions. Daily is built using WebRTC and all multimedia traffic is routed through their media servers. Because of this, there may be some settings that need to be adjusted for you to attend. We recommend reviewing the Attendee Requirements for Integrated Video in advance of your scheduled session!

 

For the best user experience, we recommend using Chrome as your browser.

 

Handshake is currently working on enhancing the mobile experience for users, ensuring that everyone can participate in virtual interactions wherever they may be. For the initial launch:

  • If you're using the mobile app via iOS device, you'll be directed to your device's web browser to participate in the virtual interaction.
  • If you're using the mobile app via Android device, you'll have access to an embedded mobile web experience within the app — this means you won't need to leave the app to participate in the virtual interaction.

 

Attending a video session begins once you click the button Join on your desktop and a new tab in your browser opens.

In the new tab, your browser may prompt to allow access to your microphone and camera. You'll need to allow this access to have audio and video in the session.
💡Note: some employers may host webinars for larger audiences. In such cases, your video and audio will be automatically turned off, and you won't be able to control your camera or microphone. To interact during the webinar, you'll need to use the chat feature.

 

Topics:

 

Video session preview page

When a new tab opens in your browser, you can adjust your videos settings before joining!

A preview of your video will be available in the center of the page. If your video is off, your profile photo will display instead — If you do not have a profile photo, a gray person icon is present.

ready to join? image.png

 

Settings

Your settings are located below your video preview screen.

  • Video: control your camera by turning it on and off, managing your visibility.
  • Audio: use this to mute or unmute your audio.
  • Effects: apply a background from a preselected library of images, or upload a custom background from your computer.
    • Adding a background offers more privacy or a consistent and professional feel for virtual interactions. Available options include: Soft blur, Strong blur, Coffee shop, Library, Lounge, Office, and more!
  • Reduce (Noise Reduction): activate this to minimize background noise, making your voice clearer when you're speaking.
  • More: access your audio/video setting
    • Audio and Video: confirm your camera, microphone, and speaker devices
    • Video quality: select the video quality that’s best for your network
    • User preferences: choose your language, control your notifications, and select a default emoji skin tone.

 

Once you're ready to join, click the black button Join, located in the upper-right corner of the video preview.

Note: you can join a video session up to 5 minutes before the session's start time.

 

 

Participating in the video session

Once you’ve clicked the button Join, from your video preview, you’re directed to the video session in Daily. 

Video options.png

 

For larger gatherings, the host may choose to turn off audio and video for attendees during your session — this is to preserve the video quality of the virtual interaction. If this is the case, your audio and video will automatically be turned off upon entering the session, and you won't be able to turn your camera on or unmute without being called on.

 

If you still need to adjust your settings, you may do so after you’ve joined the video session!

 

 

Adjust audio and video settings

In the audio and video settings, make sure the correct devices are selected for your Microphone, Speakers, and Camera if you have more than one. 

Click the carrot icon (down arrow), located to the right of each to then select the devices you wish to use during your session.

Video options.png

 

Tip: click Video Settings from the menu to adjust your audio and video from the settings window, or choose to Hide self view from the video option. Hiding yourself removes your video display from your screen, allowing more room to view other participants on your screen. If you turn off Hide self view, your own video display reappears on your screen, showing how you appear to others attending the session.

 

Additional video settings.png

 

You can also access your audio and video settings by clicking the gear icon, located in the upper-left corner of the video screen to open your settings window.

 

Video display options

Located in the upper-right corner of your screen, these options allow you to choose how you want to view other attendees.

  • Grid View: Shows a grid of video tiles for all participants, perfect for group conversations.
    • Note: shows up to 16 video tiles on the screen at once via desktop.
  • Speaker View: The active speaker's video tile is enlarged while other attendees are displayed in a carousel on the right side of the screen, making it ideal for presentations or lectures.
  • Start Picture-in-Picture: when sharing your screen or presenting during a virtual interaction, this feature will show the hosts video in a small tile outside the browser. This can be helpful, as it allows you to stay visually connected with them throughout your screensharing.
    • Note: picture-in-picture is only available in Chrome.
Grid view.png

 

View participants and chat

To view the participants list during the session, including the host, click the participant icon (People) in the bottom middle of the screen. A list of participants displays on the right of the screen.

 

People button.png

 

To chat with your host and other attendees, click the chat icon (message box) in the bottom middle of the screen. The chat window will appear on the right of the screen — If others type in the chat, and your chat isn't open, a red dot over the chat bubble will indicate there's unread messages.

Note: messages have a 256-character limit.

 

Chat in a meeting.png

 

Before the host ends the session for all, you can download the chat to refer to later! To download the chat, click the link Download chat, located in the lower-right corner of your chat box — the chat will automatically be downloaded to your computer.

Download chat.png

 

React in your session

Reactions float upwards on the video screen as an effect expressing how you and others feel. To send a reaction during the session, click the heart icon, located in the bottom middle of the screen, then choose from the preselect emoji options such as a hand clap, wave, celebration, heart, and fire.

React.png

 

Turn on Auto-captions

To turn on auto-captions, click the Captions icon, located to the right of React. Once auto-captions are enabled, they'll be displayed in the upper-left corner of the video screen. 

Tip: If auto-captions do not automatically start showing, click Captions again.

Auto-captions make content easier to understand and follow by automatically making captions for spoken dialogue in real time. This feature uses speech recognition technology to transcribe audio to text, which is then displayed as subtitles during a video call or recording.
 

auto captions image.png

 

To stop auto-captions, click the red Captions icon.

 

Share your screen

For 1:1 interactions (appointments, virtual fairs 1:1, and employer-hosted meetings) you'll have the option to share your screen. 
 

For group sessions (virtual fairs and events) the host will need to enable the screen share option to you. This is done by promoting you to "host" for you to have the option.

Screen sharing in a session is currently possible via Desktop only.

To share your screen, the host must choose to enable this feature for attendees per session. If enabled, click the computer icon button to start screen-sharing.

 

Share Screen.png

 

Sharing options depend on the browser you're using.

For example, in Chrome, you can choose to share your full screen, a particular application window, or a specific tab within your browser window. In other browsers, you may be limited as to what you can share.

Share Screen.png

 

🚀Tip: to maximize your screensharing abilities on the platform, here's a few suggestions:

  • Use the picture-in-picture feature (available on Chrome only). This allows you to maintain a visual connection with the other person while also sharing information from your screen.
  • If you have one screen, use a second window for your presentation. You can arrange your windows on the screen to view both your presentation as well as the chat and attendee carousel.
  • If you have two separate screens, use a second window for your presentation and showcase each window on its own screen.

 

 

Pin a user

If you would like to pin a user on the screen (such as an ASL interpreter) you can do so by clicking the participant icon (People) in the bottom middle of the screen.

From the list of participants displayed on the right of the screen, locate the user you want to pin, then click the ellipsis icon, located to the right of their name. Click Pin participant from the dropdown to pin their video to your screen. 

Pin user image.png

 

Report a problem (Technical Issue)

You can report an audio issue, video issue, chat issue, or other. This will generate a ticket for our support team to review, as well as help us continue to improve our product. 

For more details on this process, refer to Reporting an Issue as an Attendee.

 

Report a User

To guarantee a safe and respectful environment while attending video sessions on Handshake, the you may choose to report a participant if necessary.

To Report a user, click the ellipsis icon, located in the upper-right corner of the video screen, then click Report User from the dropdown menu.

Report a user.png

In the pop-up that appears, enter the following information:

  • The user name (choose from dropdown)
  • Reason (select one)
    • I think this user is fake or fraudulent
    • This user is harassing me or someone else
  • Details (type in textbox)

Once everything is added, click Submit report, located in the lower-right corner to send to our team for further review.

Submit Report a Person Report.png

 

Leave a session

When the video session is finished, click the red exit icon, Leave to exit the session.

leave video.png

 

Note: if you leave the session before it's scheduled end time, you’ll be able to rejoin it at any point as long as the interaction (appointment, virtual fair, 1:1, etc) is still going‌ on and hasn't been ended by the host. However, once the session is over, the button to join the virtual interaction will no longer be active.

For additional details on participating in virtual Handshake sessions and resolving audio and video issues, refer to our Attendee Resources.