Do not sign anything you are not fully comfortable with without careful (and sometimes timestaking) consideration. If you need time to review and consider, ask for it. It should only reflect well on you.
If a supplier to the company did the same thing - slapped down a NDA and demanded you sign on the spot on behalf of the company (your prospective employer) before you go further - would they expect you to do so on the spot without careful consideration? I should think not.
They should expect the same from you as an employee.
Also, the interview is a time for the company to convince you why you should want to come and work for them Any company that uses this as a sales technique is not one I would want to work for.
I had an experience with this stuff very recently. I was interviewing with consulting company and they required NDA for interview. I asked if the company requires a potential client to sign an NDA when they sell or market the company. For example, did they make sales calles or go to trade shows to market the companies services (Yes.)? And did every trade show attendee or call recipient sign NDA before they can speak further (No.)? There must be some level of info that can be shared without requiring an NDA from very start.
After going through interview process, company presented me with offer and strict non-disclosure, non-compete employment contract. I asked if the agreement could be modified at all and the response was "No." So I declined to consider the offer on its face in light of agreement which I could not possibly sign as is.
Surprisingly they came back and said "Oh, well perhaps we CAN modify if you feel that strongly."
At end of day, I decided agreement might put me at risk and end up as baggage down the road if things don't work out. So I moved on anyway.
I have 2 suggestions to consider: 1) When considering these contracts, always evaluate assuming the worst case scenario might play out. 2) If a company's edge is based on information so susceptible to damage by disclosure during an interview, how sustainable is their competitive advantage?
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Do not sign anything you are not fully comfortable with without careful (and sometimes timestaking) consideration. If you need time to review and consider, ask for it. It should only reflect well on you.
If a supplier to the company did the same thing - slapped down a NDA and demanded you sign on the spot on behalf of the company (your prospective employer) before you go further - would they expect you to do so on the spot without careful consideration? I should think not.
They should expect the same from you as an employee.
Also, the interview is a time for the company to convince you why you should want to come and work for them Any company that uses this as a sales technique is not one I would want to work for.
I had an experience with this stuff very recently. I was interviewing with consulting company and they required NDA for interview. I asked if the company requires a potential client to sign an NDA when they sell or market the company. For example, did they make sales calles or go to trade shows to market the companies services (Yes.)? And did every trade show attendee or call recipient sign NDA before they can speak further (No.)? There must be some level of info that can be shared without requiring an NDA from very start. After going through interview process, company presented me with offer and strict non-disclosure, non-compete employment contract. I asked if the agreement could be modified at all and the response was "No." So I declined to consider the offer on its face in light of agreement which I could not possibly sign as is. Surprisingly they came back and said "Oh, well perhaps we CAN modify if you feel that strongly." At end of day, I decided agreement might put me at risk and end up as baggage down the road if things don't work out. So I moved on anyway. I have 2 suggestions to consider: 1) When considering these contracts, always evaluate assuming the worst case scenario might play out. 2) If a company's edge is based on information so susceptible to damage by disclosure during an interview, how sustainable is their competitive advantage?