Dear Matt: I've been interviewing with a company that requested I sign a non-compete. I'm wondering, when you are required to sign a non-compete should you also have a severance package in place? If they let you go or you leave it's hard to find a job in the same field with a non-compete in place. At what level should a person be signing non-competes and requesting signing bonuses?
Matt: Non-competes are often considered a company's version of a pre-nuptial agreement, says Lissa Weimelt of The Hiring Experts www.thehi- ringexperts.com, a Twin Cities retained executive search firm.
They are intended to protect the company from having employees use or take its proprietary or confidential information when they leave the position. Companies are increasingly using non-compete agreements to protect the investment in developing the company's business relationships and information, says Shirley Lerner, an employment attorney with Littler, a Minneapolis-based national employment and labor relations firm.
If you are asked to sign a non-compete, it's best to consult an employment attorney to help negotiate terms. This won't be cheap, but it's well worth it. You can negotiate that your non-compete is voided if you are downsized or fired, or you may agree to it remaining in effect if you voluntarily quit.
Work with your attorney to help develop a signing bonus and/or severance package. But be prepared, your prospective employer may not be open to agreeing to those terms. Signing bonuses and severance packages are usually reserved for those at the executive level, or those who bring a unique skill set to a company in positions that are hard to fill. As Lerner points out, under Minnesota law there is no requirement that the employee be given anything, such as a sign-on bonus or severance package, to make sure that the non-compete is legally enforceable.
Non-competes vary greatly from company to company. Some are quite extensive, limiting the geography, territory or nature of the work you can do in the future. Some are lengthy in terms of the time you are denied access to the market. Some are not.
Bottom line: Do your homework and protect yourself before agreeing to terms.
"Be sure you understand what you are signing before you sign on the dotted line," says Weimelt. "You need to carefully evaluate the pros and cons of a non-compete and how it affects your individual situation."
And your present - and your future situations.
Matt Krumrie has written and specialized in career advice for 10 years. He lives and works in the Twin Cities. Matt answers readers' questions every week; e-mail him at askmatt@startribune.com.