Weigh your options while negotiating

Before writing in this forum I thought of going through the job offer letter which I had received before joining India's largest manufacturing company. I am reproducing a few lines out of the various terms and conditions, "You shall not at any time engage in or be concerned with or be interested, directly or indirectly, in any business, work or activity other than that of the Company or commit any act prejudicial to the interests of the Company and/or its business". And suddenly I started to realize the gravity of what these words could mean if I ever wanted to indulge in Open Source Development (OSD) Activity. I guess most of us would agree that we did not know that such terms and conditions exist when we first landed with an offer letter or never cared about them. So I think knowledge about these terms is the first weapon required during negotiations. Secondly while negotiating you may land up in following situations and act accordingly:

1. You tell the company about your intention about OSD activity, the company agrees to give you freedom and so the contract is framed accordingly.

2. You tell the company, but it does not agree. You weigh the options and find that job is more important at the moment, so you accept their terms and conditions.

3. You tell the company, but it does not agree. You feel that your interest in OSD and your freedom are more important, you leave the company and find another company and start from step 1.

About the negotiating ability, I think at the outset of their careers most of the employees are not in a strong position to negotiate but as they prove their worth and become key resources, their negotiating ability increases.