Automattic / Automattic/WP-Job-Manager

Timezone Handling for Job Deadlines

Open
#2,873 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Enhancement
Dominant language
PHP
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Forks
369
Avg merge
11h 37m
Merged PRs (30d)
12

Description

### Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe
My site is set to the Berlin timezone, but users may be posting or applying for jobs in different regions, such as the USA. Currently, it seems that all job deadlines are displayed according to the site's timezone, which can cause confusion for users in other time zones.

Example of the issue:
The site (Berlin timezone) has a job with a deadline of January 19 at 11:59 PM (Berlin time).
A user in California (6 hours behind Berlin) sees the job in the morning and plans to apply later that evening at 7 PM (California time).
However, by 7 PM in California, it is already January 20 in Berlin, and the job is no longer visible because the deadline has passed.
This creates a problem where users in different time zones might miss application deadlines without realizing it. Ideally, job deadlines should be displayed according to the user's local time to avoid confusion.

### Describe the solution you'd like
To prevent this confusion, a timezone selection should be required when posting a job. This would ensure that:

1) The expiry date and application deadline are set based on the job’s relevant timezone, not just the site’s default timezone.
2) Users in different time zones can see the correct deadline in relation to the job's location.
3) For example, a user in California applying for a job in Berlin would clearly see that the deadline is January 19 at 6 PM (California time) instead of being caught off guard when the job disappears.

Is there already a way to implement this, or would this be considered as an enhancement?

Looking forward to your feedback. Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Eric

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

The issue does not name any files, tests, or entry points. Start by locating the job posting and deadline handling, then determine how the site's timezone is currently applied; done should include a defined timezone-selection flow and consistent deadline display and expiry behavior for users in different regions.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
php
Domain
backend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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