5 ms·

Or, you know, you can sign them and not give a shit. Unless you're working for SuperLargeCo (and according to this article, in most cases even then) nothing ba

by kough 11y ago

Or, you know, you can sign them and not give a shit. Unless you're working for SuperLargeCo (and according to this article, in most cases even then) nothing bad will happen if you then work for a competitor. As others have pointed out in this thread, there's no potential legal harm to your new employer. And it is incredibly rare for prior employers to enforce noncompetes. How many of you have had issues with noncompetes? Is my experience totally atypical? I've job hopped pretty frequently both in and out of California and never had any issues.

thedevil 11y ago
Some employers will not hire you if you have a non-compete that might impact your work for them. It's never been an issue for me, I've only read stories online. But I have been asked while applying for a job whether I have any non-competes. It's a risk for you. Even if unlikely, there's a non-zero chance that it could screw up your career and hurt you badly. That risk has very real value attached to it. Just like insurance and out-of-money options have real value to them.
- nitrogen 11y ago
  Long ago a company I worked for had to terminate development on an entire product line because an inferior competitor decided to harass its former employees across two different companies, rather than make a better product. One target was a large corp (where I worked), the other was a highly innovative startup. The aggressor had way more money than the startup and killed them with legal fees and discovery costs.
- ghaff 11y ago
  As I wrote elsewhere, I used to work for a small firm and we passed on at least a couple folks we were interested in because they had non-competes that to greater or lesser degrees could have been issues. Our business office considered any non-compete that could even potentially come into play a complete showstopper.
mikeash 11y ago
And what if my employer ends up being vindictive and does try to enforce the noncompete? What you're saying sounds exactly like what I've heard form every purveyor of terrible contract terms. "Oh, that's just a formality." "We don't ever enforce that clause." Well when why do you need me to sign it?! Assume that every clause of everything you sign is potentially in play. If you don't, you're setting yourself up to be burned hard later on.
hibikir 11y ago
I got threats from a former employer about a non compete. They wanted money as compensation, and said they'd sue me if I didn't comply within a week. I try to engage them as adults, but they seemed to be unaware of how to deal with someone that was prepared: All their communication was amateurish at best, maybe hoping for me to admit guilt? Incompetence either way. So I decided to ignore them, and see what happened: I thought they either had no case, or that they couldn't claim real damages. As it happens, I never got sued, so I guess that they were bluffing, and just hoping for me to give them money, or that they talked to a real attorney, and that said attorney told them their chances of winning were too slim for what they could ever make.
st3v3r 11y ago
No. Do not sign them.

by kough 11y ago

thedevil 11y ago

Some employers will not hire you if you have a non-compete that might impact your work for them. It's never been an issue for me, I've only read stories online. But I have been asked while applying for a job whether I have any non-competes. It's a risk for you. Even if unlikely, there's a non-zero chance that it could screw up your career and hurt you badly. That risk has very real value attached to it. Just like insurance and out-of-money options have real value to them.

nitrogen 11y ago
Long ago a company I worked for had to terminate development on an entire product line because an inferior competitor decided to harass its former employees across two different companies, rather than make a better product. One target was a large corp (where I worked), the other was a highly innovative startup. The aggressor had way more money than the startup and killed them with legal fees and discovery costs.
ghaff 11y ago
As I wrote elsewhere, I used to work for a small firm and we passed on at least a couple folks we were interested in because they had non-competes that to greater or lesser degrees could have been issues. Our business office considered any non-compete that could even potentially come into play a complete showstopper.

mikeash 11y ago

And what if my employer ends up being vindictive and does try to enforce the noncompete? What you're saying sounds exactly like what I've heard form every purveyor of terrible contract terms. "Oh, that's just a formality." "We don't ever enforce that clause." Well when why do you need me to sign it?! Assume that every clause of everything you sign is potentially in play. If you don't, you're setting yourself up to be burned hard later on.

hibikir 11y ago

I got threats from a former employer about a non compete. They wanted money as compensation, and said they'd sue me if I didn't comply within a week. I try to engage them as adults, but they seemed to be unaware of how to deal with someone that was prepared: All their communication was amateurish at best, maybe hoping for me to admit guilt? Incompetence either way. So I decided to ignore them, and see what happened: I thought they either had no case, or that they couldn't claim real damages. As it happens, I never got sued, so I guess that they were bluffing, and just hoping for me to give them money, or that they talked to a real attorney, and that said attorney told them their chances of winning were too slim for what they could ever make.

st3v3r 11y ago

No. Do not sign them.