Legal Shit 101... if someone asks you to sign a contract, right away assume it's weighted in their favor. You have to read the contract before you sign it. Take your time, feel free to ask for a take-home copy and ask your lawyer to review it. Having asked a lot of people to sign contracts over the years... I'd say 90-95% don't read it and just sign where they are told to. Expedient...
The contract template was written by the company's legal team to protect the company, it may have some terms in it that seem like they are an "agreement" (like how you'll get paid)... but really the goal is to keep the company safe. And, to be fair, I'd fire any lawyer who didn't give me a contract like that... so it's not the lawyer's fault. But if you sign it... you're agreeing to it. Easy solution: don't sign it. (But of course you presumably want the job.)
Middle-ground solution: Read the contract, red-line / annotate things you have concerns / questions about, and ask if you can speak with legal. If it's a small business... they will probably weigh you comments against their lawyer's hourly cost... and more often than not just agree to let you cut things out of the contract. If it's a larger company... you're probably locked in if you want to work there -- that's just the reality of it. If you talk with legal, do your best to understand what their motivations are and make sure the contract is explicit. You can also ask for exceptions for side projects by simply declaring, "Any work done for side projects X, Y, Z shall not fall under the scope of this contract."
Anyway look, it's a negotiation. You can test the limits, nothing is set in stone. You're the only one who is on your side. Everyone else is out to fuck you. Safe assumption.
The contract template was written by the company's legal team to protect the company, it may have some terms in it that seem like they are an "agreement" (like how you'll get paid)... but really the goal is to keep the company safe. And, to be fair, I'd fire any lawyer who didn't give me a contract like that... so it's not the lawyer's fault. But if you sign it... you're agreeing to it. Easy solution: don't sign it. (But of course you presumably want the job.)
Middle-ground solution: Read the contract, red-line / annotate things you have concerns / questions about, and ask if you can speak with legal. If it's a small business... they will probably weigh you comments against their lawyer's hourly cost... and more often than not just agree to let you cut things out of the contract. If it's a larger company... you're probably locked in if you want to work there -- that's just the reality of it. If you talk with legal, do your best to understand what their motivations are and make sure the contract is explicit. You can also ask for exceptions for side projects by simply declaring, "Any work done for side projects X, Y, Z shall not fall under the scope of this contract."
Anyway look, it's a negotiation. You can test the limits, nothing is set in stone. You're the only one who is on your side. Everyone else is out to fuck you. Safe assumption.