Are you a slave to the deadline?

Deadlines. They're undoubtedly a part of lawyers' day-to-day lives. But in fact, they are something you need to face up to before you even become a lawyer. Almost every employer has a deadline for applications for training contracts, vacation schemes, pupillages (mini and maxi) and pretty much anything else involving a selection process.

So, your first question should be, 'Where do I find these deadlines?'. Well, look no further than your old mates at LawCareers.Net. The site has the best deadline list for future lawyers, bar none! At the moment, the clock is counting down for vacation schemes and work placements, with a massive spike on 31 January - see them all HERE. For training contracts, the biggest day of the year is 31 July, but there are deadlines throughout the year - see them all HERE. If you want to become a barrister, then the pupillage portal deadline is key. It was April in 2012, but with a new system coming on-stream this year, the position is unclear - all will be revealed HERE when we know.

And if these three great pages are not enough, you can go one stage further. If you save your chosen firms or sets into your free, personal MyLC.N account, the system will automatically send you an email to remind you when their deadlines are approaching.

Here are some top deadline tips for you:

• Always double-check the deadlines we publish with the employers themselves if you genuinely plan to make an application to a firm. We hold data on over 1,000 organisations and we are reliant on what they have told us. Inevitably the wires occasionally get crossed.
• Do not leave making an application right to the deadline. You should always sleep on an application and reread it in the morning. It doesn't hurt to get a trusted critic to read it as well.
• Applying at the last minute has another drawback - think of the poor recruiter who has to process (literally) thousands of applications. There is a good chance that the last minute applications will be given scant attention by a frazzled reader dreaming of the finishing line. And in the case of work placement schemes, there may be simply no places left, as recruiters usually fit in selection with other duties in the pre- and post-Christmas rush.
• The fact that a deadline is approaching is NOT a reason to apply to that firm or chambers. You need to carefully research which places are right for you. An application made on the spur of the moment is unlikely to be very strong.
• Don't make too many applications! The deadline should help you with this. Be realistic about how long a fully researched, considered and polished application takes (remember, a non-masterpiece will not be successful). Cut your cloth accordingly and plan what needs to be done between now and the next deadline.

Right, I'd better wrap this up. It needs to be submitted by 5:00 this afternoon!