You have some good points. But there is another side to consider... In my case, in large part I was hired specifically for the customer contacts that I brought

You have some good points. But there is another side to consider... In my case, in large part I was hired specifically for the customer contacts that I brought with me. So for my company to tell me that I could not work for a competing company in my industry, specifically not selling to those same customers, seemed totally unreasonable to me. I decided to hold my ground on this one (at the risk of maybe not getting the job) but in the end, my company agreed to pass on the non-compete. Two years later, I'm really glad they did, I hope they're happy too. If you're hiring sales people now, chances are you'll want people with some experience and or contacts in your industry. That's one of the primary reason to hire certain sales people. (Also, I am not opposed to companies that require confidentiality from their employees (e.g., IP). There is probably some reasonable legalese that you can write into an employee's contract in that regard.) Your company's situation might be entirely different but that is my experience. Happy hunting on the hiring.