When conducting a Standard Overhead Join, if it's a left hand circuit turn the aircraft to place the aerodrome on the left hand side of the nose (ie 10 to 11 oclock), if it's a right hand circuit turn the aircraft to place the aerodrome on the right hand side of the nose (ie 1 to 2 oclock position). You then fly in turning flight keeping the aerodrome on the left (left hand circuit) or right (right hand circuit) at a minimum (ideally) of circuit height plus 1,000 ft until the landing runway is at the 9 oclock positon (left hand circuit) or 3 oclock position (right hand circuit). You are then on the dead side and may commence descent to circuit height in a descending turn to cross the upwind end of the runway in level flight at circuit height.
With students I find that if they get their initial orientation correct by turning to place the aerodrome on the correct side of the nose of the a/c the rest of the SOJ is quite straightforward.
Of course if the cloud base is too low a SOJ is not safe because you dont have enough vertical separation from aircraft in the circuit on the live side. For example if the circuit height is 800 ft and the cloudbase is 1,200 ft you would need to remain well clear of the live side in certain cases and let down to circuit height before joining deadside.
During training students need to be taught SOJs and "commercial joins" (ie straight in, base leg etc) because they may be called upon to do either depending on where they are intending to land. I find that in many cases those that learn to fly at controlled airports (licensed ATSU) struggle when they fly to an "airfield" with only A/G and have to start making their own decisions as to how to organise a join with respect to other traffic when previously they have been used to be instructed what to do by ATC.
I will often ask an A/G operator "Is there any other traffic about, and do you like or dislike straight-in approaches?"
Sorry to say it but in my opinion A/G operators have to be careful how they answer this sort of question due to liability in the event of an accident. They can say there is no
reported traffic; if they reply in the affirm that they "like" straight-in approaches and you collide with the other a/c on finals I would not like to be in the shoes of the A/G operator at the subsequent court case. The
only thing an A/G can give you is "information" and I personally think it is unfair and indeed incorrect to ask them something which they are not entitled to comment on.