>What do you recommend, a person stays unemployed forever because they refuse to sign these unprincipled agreements? You don't need to be that dramatic about t

>What do you recommend, a person stays unemployed forever because they refuse to sign these unprincipled agreements? You don't need to be that dramatic about the non-compete. What you do is you ask HR via e-mail whether the non-compete is negotiable or a mandatory requirement for employment. If it is mandatory, then you have written proof that the non-compete is a contract of adhesion, so you simply need to budget for a lawyer to sue to nullify it on termination. If it is negotiable, then you don't sign the non-compete, or sign a non-compete clause that actually compensates you at full or partial salary for the time spent not competing.