When should you sign an employee agreement vs. being an at-will employee where you can leave anytime you would like?  Strategically speaking, you better make sure you like the job if you are signing a contract!

The upside of signing an employment agreement is that you have stability and hopefully a payout in the event the company terminates you with or without cause. The downside is that you are stuck with the job. Although, I do believe anything is negotiable so there is always hope to try to get out of the agreement as if you want out and the company wants you out, certainly there is a way to negotiate around the agreement that is in place.  

Where it gets tricky is when you have a non-compete clause in the agreement and now you have brought in the biggest piece of business, but want to leave the company.  This is where instincts come in. Before you even take the job, if they are asking you to sign a non-compete, you have to check in with yourself and get a sense of how seriously they plan on taking their own non-compete clause.

At the end of the day, if a client hires you and that particular client likes you, technically there is not much the company can do, literally speaking as hey, is it really your fault if the client likes you best? However, if there is alot of money at stake, you risk being sued, along with having your client as a co-defendant who the company will argue is interfering with business relations.  It is very tricky business in the area of a non-compete clause and on an aside, a company can have you sign one even if you are an at-will employee.

Go with the Stephanie gut check: If you think the person that is hiring you would rather let you starve than take a big client, even when the big client wants to only use you on the account anyway, do yourself a favor and take a different job. I know it is difficult as everyone is on their best behavior in the first interview but you have to listen to your gut instincts!

The norm is that most people are at-will employees and must sign a handbook, a code of behavior of some sorts and perhaps a non-compete. However, there are those times where an employment agreement is given and I would think twice before you lock yourself in.