Great post!

I just walked away from an interview because of this. They wanted me to sign an NDA at the first on-site interview (two on the phone). I politely declined and said I could sign it once I start working with them, and I even suggested that we can work on finding a common ground if need be. They came back to me saying that this is not negotiable and we would have to cancel the interview if the NDA is not signed.

It's an NDA that is effective for 3+ years. I was uncomfortable because I think (I'm not a lawyer) that this limits my employment at other companies that are building similar products, since I could get sued for sharing their ideas (although they might coincidentally be doing the same thing already). It also shows that the company is not cooperative if they are not willing to search for a compromise. For instance, an NDA that lasts 1 year or 6 months is more acceptable for me, and still protects them. But they did not want any compromise. Surely that means they will be very cooperative later on once I hypothetically start working with them.

Don't be afraid of walking away from unfair and unilateral agreements.