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Ask HN: Has anyone successfully renegotiated an AWS non-compete?

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Re: Ask HN: Has anyone successfully renegotiated an AWS non-compete?

#161

Post by cosmodisk »

xienze wrote: post #124
d4mi3n wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is probably one of the biggest reasons I'm unlikely to leave the state until other parts of the US make similar determinations. It boggles me that we allow employers to have so much control over an employees life after they have left said organization .

You really have to “be somebody” in order to have a non-compete enforced against you. If you’re like most people the company you left couldn’t care less where you go. Yes yes, there’s exceptions, but in general they’re rarely enforced.

Even being 'somebody' may not enforce it. A few years ago Salesforce hired so many execs from Microsoft that it looked like there's no end to it.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone successfully renegotiated an AWS non-compete?

#162

Post by MatteoFrigo »

Save this link for the day when AWS enforces the non-compete against you: http://www.byrneskeller.com/attorneys/keith-d-petrak/ As far as I can tell, this gentleman's entire business is to handle AWS refugees, at least in Seattle. I personally know dozens of people, of all levels, who have used his services.

Some commenters on this thread think that they are too unimportant for AWS to harass them after they leave. The issue is not how important the employee is, but how dangerous a competitor the next employer is from the perspective of AWS. If AWS wants to slow down the competitor, they will use all legal means available to them.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone successfully renegotiated an AWS non-compete?

#163

Post by [deleted] »

x0x0 wrote: post #111
ozzythecat wrote: post #71

I can’t answer your specific question, but I would really encourage you to think more about the AWS offer. Having spent a decade at Amazon, across several organizations, I don’t recommend it as a place to work. There was a NYTimes article about the company in 2015. Everything there still reflects the day to day culture of the company. For me Amazon took an unprecedented toll on my mental and physical health. I did ea…

Not to mention the backweighted RSU vesting schedules. AWS comp is designed around recovering comp back from employees that put in, say, 2 years and decide AWS isn't the place for them. Not how I run a business, but to each his or her own.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone successfully renegotiated an AWS non-compete?

#164

Post by rosndo »

cycomanic wrote: post #150
rosndo wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not advertising the fact that you previously signed a non-binding unenforceable noncompete is not lying by omission.

Except that as we heard from many here, they might very well be binding and enforceable in many states.

>it wasn't an issue of enforceability

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone successfully renegotiated an AWS non-compete?

#165

Post by kixiQu »

kixiQu wrote: post #118
wnolens wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Amazons leadership fundamentally does not see their employees as human beings I'm there right now and this is very true. It isn't even a hidden truth about working there. In fact, the company has a set of principles [0] that are necessary to adopt and use to justify all decisions you make or feedback you give to others. And missing from this set of principles? Any mention of the humanity of those you are leading. T…

This isn't a meaningful criticism because -- well, watch what people do, not what they say. But it isn't even coherent because you're working with an out of date list: https://amazon.jobs/en/internal/principles

https://www.geekwire.com/2021/amazon-adds-two-new-leadership...

https://aws.amazon.com/executive-insights/content/leading-an...

https://www.carrus.io/blog/amazon-newprinciples

Alternate links

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone successfully renegotiated an AWS non-compete?

#166

Post by mshaler »

ipaddr wrote: post #159
kixiQu wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a meaningful criticism because -- well, watch what people do, not what they say. But it isn't even coherent because you're working with an out of date list: https://amazon.jobs/en/internal/principles

Paywall. Try again.

https://www.aboutamazon.com/about-us/leadership-principles

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone successfully renegotiated an AWS non-compete?

#169

Post by wnolens »

kixiQu wrote: post #118
wnolens wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Amazons leadership fundamentally does not see their employees as human beings I'm there right now and this is very true. It isn't even a hidden truth about working there. In fact, the company has a set of principles [0] that are necessary to adopt and use to justify all decisions you make or feedback you give to others. And missing from this set of principles? Any mention of the humanity of those you are leading. T…

This isn't a meaningful criticism because -- well, watch what people do, not what they say. But it isn't even coherent because you're working with an out of date list: https://amazon.jobs/en/internal/principles

I've been asked to reword my peer reviews to be a function of leadership principles only. And my promotion is justified as a function of them as well. They run very deep. I cite them on a weekly basis.

The two new principles are less than a year old. They aren't taken as serious as the other originals. The culture is already established.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone successfully renegotiated an AWS non-compete?

#170

Post by ipaddr »

If you are worried about asking you will be worried about just breaking it in the future. Keep that in mind when signing because employment/reference checks will become worrisome.

There are plenty of areas where Amazon doesn't compete and plenty of areas they do compete. If you stay away from bigger firms you should be okay.

Should you accept the offer is laying low a strategy you can live with for 18 months?

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