Will the End of Noncompetes Change How You Look for a Job?

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to ban noncompete clauses. In theory, that move will impact the huge number of tech professionals who’ve signed noncompetes with their current employer. Will they suddenly feel the urge to jump jobs?

To answer that question, we posted a quick poll on LinkedIn soon after the FTC’s announcement. We asked whether banning noncompete clauses would impact your decision to hunt for a new role. Here’s how you answered; total sample size was 355 people:

(One obvious caveat here: Not everyone responding to a Dice poll on LinkedIn is a tech professional. However, we can assume that most respondents are involved in tech in some way.)

There are two things to keep in mind about the FTC’s latest move:

• It doesn’t apply to everyone: “Under the final rule, existing noncompetes for senior executives can remain in force,” the FTC stated in its explainer. “Employers, however, are prohibited from entering into or enforcing new noncompetes with senior executives. The final rule defines senior executives as workers earning more than $151,164 annually and who are in policy-making positions.” So, if you’re a CIO, CTO, or some other kind of high-ranking tech executive, your noncompete may still apply.

• It might be rolled back at some point: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a prominent business lobby, plans on filing a legal challenge to the FTC’s maneuver. Other lawsuits could likewise chip away at the ban.

If you’re interested in a new job, this FTC decision could affect your ability to jump to a new role; it may also encourage recruiters and hiring managers to reach out to you with an enticing offer. According to recent studies, roughly one-third of those working in computer and mathematical fields are bound by noncompetes, along with 36 percent of engineers and architects, and at least some of those folks will feel the urge to switch that they have more freedom to do so.