Non-competes are so vague that nobody knows how much to demand even if they were possible to negotiate (which they aren't). A friend of mine received two offer

Non-competes are so vague that nobody knows how much to demand even if they were possible to negotiate (which they aren't). A friend of mine received two offers for almost the exact same compensation. One had a non-compete clause buried deep in the employment contract. Most candidates probably wouldn't even find it. He asked what the non-compete means. They told him it's almost never enforced. As in, by the mere language, they could sue pretty much any employee who switched jobs. So ask an independent lawyer to get an answer, right? The lawyer told him it basically depends on the judge and the judicial climate if it ever goes to trial. Sometimes these cases get dismissed. Other times, the NCA is enforced. Even if he wanted to negotiate, he couldn't. He doesn't know how much the clause is going to cost him. All the key information is missing, such as whether the company will actually sue, whether the "judicial climate" is right for the judge to side with the plaintiff or summarily dismiss the suit, etc. It's the perfect example of "negotiations" being useless, especially for a weak uninformed party like a job candidate.