We hate deadline breakers. They show us and prospective employers how useless they would be as employees. We’ve heard all of the excuses.

The dog died. Car accident. Sick uncle. Dog ate it. Computer failure. Forgot to save. Wedding anniversary. Alien invasion … or the classic, “I’ve changed my mind.”

The best excuse for breaking a deadline was a man who caught his girlfriend having a romantic dinner with his best friend. He was so upset, he couldn’t write a thing. I liked that one.

We black banned him anyway and refunded 50 per cent of his monies.

After the client has agreed to the terms and conditions (and I again mention the importance of the 24-hour rule in the agreement email), we require all work to arrive at Republic on time (or before).

Remember, clients come to us. We don’t go to them. Break deadlines without any explanation and we want them out. Why?

It throws sand in to the gearbox of the business model. It shows they’re not serious job seekers. It disrespects us as professionals. It wastes time we could have spent helping people who are desperate to get a job.

That’s time we could have spent writing employment documents for customers who recognise they’re working in partnership with professional writers.

We respect them and they respect us.