Non-Compete Agreements
When you’re fresh out of school and ready to start a new job, it seems like no biggie to sign a non-compete agreement preventing you from working in the industry for a few months or up to a year after you quit. You’re excited about working for Initech! What could possibly go wrong?
Let’s start with what it means. The non-compete will state that you agree to not work for competing companies. Some will only be restricted for the time for which you are working for the company and others will restrict your ability to work in the industry for a specified time frame after you leave. This post is focused on the latter. I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t really speak to how legally binding these agreements actually are, but the internet does note that enforceability in certain states could be questionable.
So what do you do if you come across a non-compete in your job search? The way I see it, you have four strategies:
RUN! The thing is, these types of agreements can speak to the culture of the company. Non-competes raise a flag that the company is focused on punitive strategies for keeping employees “loyal” over focusing on making employees happy to stay. If there are other red flags (i.e. you need to work 50 years before getting promotions or additional vacation days), this is most likely a toxic work environment you don’t want to get involved in. Not only will you be in a soul-crushing job, you will be stuck at this soul-crushing job forever or be out of work for months.
Don’t Sign It. There is a chance you can get away with not signing the non-compete and still nab the job. You could talk with the recruiter or HR and discuss the terms of the agreement and negotiate to something you are more comfortable with. Vocalizing your needs and asking for what you want are great avenues for creating the life you want.
Have a Getaway Plan. You could sign it but have your own way out if needed. There’s a few ways you could do this. You could save an emergency fund that will keep you afloat for the designated amount of time you agree to in the non-compete. Maybe even save a little extra to take a vacation or two during your time off. If you’re flexible about your career path, you could always make a lateral move to avoid restrictions within your non-compete. As an example, you could stay in the industry but move from design into construction. It could actually end up being a worthwhile career shift. Maybe your current location is not where you always wanted to end up. Maybe this job is in Montana and you always wanted to live in Hawaii. You can also move out of the limits of the non-compete.
Take a Risk. Maybe you’ll work at this company for the rest of your career, and you’ll never need to consider the repercussions of signing that non-compete. Maybe you’ll be able to finagle your way out of the agreement (again, I’m not a lawyer). Who knows? You can proceed at your own risk. Maybe it could all work out in the end… or maybe it’ll be a disaster.
Now, what would I do? I have signed a non-compete agreement that restricted my ability to work for 6 months. In-between jobs, I took a sabbatical. I chilled on the couch eating junk food, experimented with new recipes in the kitchen, and travelled to New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. It was f***ing awesome. So if you have the privilege of being able to take a pre-retirement break like this, I highly recommend it. It was a great way to reset and really enjoy life while young. However, moving forward, I would not sign another agreement like this. I don’t think I need to be taking long breaks every time I make a change in my career, and I like the freedom of being able to explore new opportunities.