> The coercion is usually that you don't know about the non-compete until you walk in and sign your employment contract on day 1.
Okay this is really bad, in the EU country where I live you usually first negotiate and sign the contract, then start working.
But the drawback is that it is really just done this way because the government requires that the business notifies it about your employment before you start working, which is a privacy issue.
I think I'd still prefer it the US way. I'd ask about this before starting to work. (if this isn't a no go)
Yep, they spring it on you by giving you your 'Employee Handbook' or something on your first day, after you accepted the offer and relocated and whatever else you wanted to do, then sit down to sign paperwork on your first day and.... yep, there it is, that sneaky little non-compete. You ask HR about it and they'll probably just say "It's standard legalese, everyone here signed it, it's no big deal, just sign the damn thing, or you can walk."
You have to bring it up in the interview if you don't want to be bound by one. But even just asking could spook out the interviewees and get them to pass on you "Is this guy a Snowden? Is he going to steal and leak all our preeeeecious 'secrets'?"
Okay this is really bad, in the EU country where I live you usually first negotiate and sign the contract, then start working.
But the drawback is that it is really just done this way because the government requires that the business notifies it about your employment before you start working, which is a privacy issue.
I think I'd still prefer it the US way. I'd ask about this before starting to work. (if this isn't a no go)