The existence of non-competes doesn't surprise me and I'm OK with companies being allowed to require them. But what shocks me is that companies do not offer commensurate severance packages. If you have a 12-month non-compete, then you'd better pay 12 months of total compensation as severance. Over the past year, I did 3 intense long interview loops and declined 2 offers and accepted the third (a FAANG where I work now). The first two places had me jumping through hoops - take home assessments, tricky behavioral interviews, intense live coding, etc., amounting to like 10+ interview rounds spent evaluating me before making an offer. At the offer stage I politely mentioned that the offer letter included an X-month non-compete agreement and I was only able to consider signing if the doc was amended to also include an X-month severance package with clear terms on "just cause" firings (when severance is exempted) and "good reason" quitting (when severance is owed even if I quit, very common in cases where 'just cause' is included), or, I offered, the non-compete can just be removed (one of the two firms already had its main presence in California but I live on the east coast where this role was based ... but still, why a company already complying with laws banning non-competes for 90% of their workforce feels a need to include it for east coast employees is just beyond me).
Of course, they both completely balked at this and we could not move forward so I declined both offers. The third company had a non-compete initially but removed it as soon as I asked - it was completely pedestrian.
It's an indication of crazy entitlement on behalf of employers that they think workers should give away *for free* significant rights (like, uh, getting a new job quickly after a layoff, in your field of expertise). These rights are clearly not compensated as part of your base compensation from a job offer and any employee would be crazy to agree to those terms without severance protection. It just communicates bizarre entitlement and unprofessionalism. I hope more candidates will wise up to this and require severance packages or else decline the offers.
Of course, they both completely balked at this and we could not move forward so I declined both offers. The third company had a non-compete initially but removed it as soon as I asked - it was completely pedestrian.
It's an indication of crazy entitlement on behalf of employers that they think workers should give away *for free* significant rights (like, uh, getting a new job quickly after a layoff, in your field of expertise). These rights are clearly not compensated as part of your base compensation from a job offer and any employee would be crazy to agree to those terms without severance protection. It just communicates bizarre entitlement and unprofessionalism. I hope more candidates will wise up to this and require severance packages or else decline the offers.