Yeah, good luck being the odd one out who wants special individualized contract. This might work for unicorn value level employees that are poached from one FANG to another but not for the average Joe.
In my experience, as a normal non-unicorn employee at a large corp, I was able to have my contract modified. It required advice from an employment law lawyer that cost a few hundred dollars and a couple emails with the company’s general counsel.
You can change these contracts. Hiring people is difficult and once the company has made that decision they don’t want to lose you over a contract clause.
As an average Joe, I was able to negotiate employment contract changes every place I worked in the tech industry in California in the early 02000s. I don't remember having been faced with contract clauses that I felt needed alteration as an entry-level tech employee in the 01990s.
If you are negotiating terms you are not an average Joe. Average Joe’s don’t even interact with people capable of requesting someone higher up to approve the change. Average Joe’s get given a take it or leave it deal
I never said I want an individualized contract, but I reserve the right to reject the offer, and I have, when the contract is unreasonable. What I want to know is when exactly to reject it wrt the confidentiality agreement.
ianal but: don't perform personal work while you are employed by an employer in the same industry. Or at least make it like you didn't do that to any observer.
You may have misunderstood the topic, which, I'll remind you, is confidentiality agreements that act as lifetime non-competes, which means for the rest of your life after you are employed by an employer in the same industry, not while you are employed by an employer in the same industry.