Not available until...On Freelancer's profile?

[aa76a3dd]

Hello, I am new to Upwork, my question may seem silly, but here goes nothing. There is a certain Freelancer I am interested in potentially hiring at a later stage. On the Freelancer in question's profile it says not available until 08/01/2020. I am located in Australia, and so I use the Day/Month/Year date format as opposed to Month/Day/Year. Can anyone tell me which date format Upwork uses, or even if Upwork displays dates differently depending upon user location? It's just that this will have a signifigant impact on whether or not I would consider hiring this Freelancer, if they were to become available in January 2020 rather than August 2020, you see.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

The freelancer is not available. And probably won't be available on the date that is displayed.

He just set his availability date to a future date, maybe as far ahead as he was allowed to set it. And when that date approaches, he will probably set the date ahead again.

[aa76a3dd]

I see. Thank you.

[a_lipsey]

---

Preston H wrote:

The freelancer is not available. And probably won't be available on the date that is displayed.

He just set his availability date to a future date, maybe as far ahead as he was allowed to set it. And when that date approaches, he will probably set the date ahead again.

---

You really don't know that at all. Maybe this freelancer is contracted for the next year. Maybe they aren't. You don't know, and it's bad form to suggest you do know what another freelancer is doing. 

OP, if you are able to use the messaging system to send a message to the FL, then confirm it that way. I know some FL and clients are in a beta test of  messaging system pre-proposal. I think you could also potentially send them an offer and possibly get their attention that way to ask their availability. 

Regarding your question on the date format, I think that's for a moderator to answer. I don't know if it changes based on your location. I assume it's the US way of putting dates, which is Month/Day/Year. I will flag this to request a mod answer that question. 

[prestonhunter]

You are correct that I do not know for certain. Which is why I said "probably."

[AveryO]

Hi Steven, and Amanda, 

The date is in the MM/DD/YYYY format.

[tlsanders]

Steven, every freelancer's practices are different. I often set my profile as unavailable for a long stretch when I'm not actively cultivating new clients, but of course none of us knows exactly when projects will wrap up, someone regular will drop out of the rotation, etc. Sometimes, I end up pushing that date back, but other times I switch my availability back on long before the scheduled date. In addition (like many freelancers), I typically don't work a 40-hour week. So, if something I'm particularly interested in arises, I may have room to fit it in. If the freelancer is of particular interest to you, there's certainly no harm in reaching out.

[moonraker]

I often have mine switched to unavailable, but that does not mean I am not open to new offers if something particularly interesting comes in.