You got the offer letter. It's 6 pages of dense text and you read every word of page 1, skimmed page 2, and signed. Most people do exactly this. The problem is that the stuff that costs you money is never on page 1.
Here's what to actually read closely, and what you can safely skim.
The 5 that matter
1. The signing bonus clawback. This is the single most expensive line most people skip. Many signing bonuses say you repay 100% if you leave within 12 months, for any reason, including being laid off. That bonus isn't a gift. It's a loan with a 12-month term. Negotiate the term down to 6 months, or ask for it waived entirely.
2. The bonus "target" language. "Annual bonus target of 10%" sounds like a number. It's not. If the letter says "discretionary," "subject to company performance," or "not guaranteed," the target is a hope, not a floor. Some companies pay the target every year. Some pay zero in bad years. If you can't find out which kind you're joining, don't budget for it.
3. The non-compete (or non-solicit). A 12-month non-compete sounds standard until you're job hunting and realize you can't work for the only five companies hiring in your field. Enforceability varies wildly by state: some states barely enforce these, some enforce them hard. This is the clause most worth a 20-minute call with an employment attorney, and yes, this is me telling you to get a lawyer for this one.
4. The vesting schedule. RSUs or options with a 4-year vest and a 1-year cliff mean: leave before month 12 and you get zero equity. Not some equity. Zero. Model the package at year 1 (cliff cleared, 25% vested) and year 4 (fully vested) separately, because "we're offering you $100k in equity" means "$0 if you leave in month 11."
5. At-will language with teeth. Almost every offer says employment is at-will. That's normal. What's not normal is at-will paired with a clawback and a non-compete: it means they can let you go at any time, and you still owe the bonus back and can't work for competitors. Read these three clauses as a group, not individually.
The 30 you can skim
Benefits summaries, PTO policy (read it once, it's usually fine), the arbitration clause (you almost certainly can't negotiate it, but know it's there), the "entire agreement" boilerplate, the background check authorization, the "return company property" section. These are standardized. They rarely cost you money, and they rarely change when you push back.
The uncomfortable part
None of this gets you more money by itself. Understanding the letter is step one. Step two is the negotiation: what to ask for, what to trade, what to leave alone, and the order to ask in. That order matters more than people think. Asking for base first and a signing bonus second gets a different answer than the reverse, because you've anchored differently.
Also: this is general information, not legal advice. I'm not a lawyer. For the non-compete and anything immigration-related, get an actual employment attorney. One call is cheaper than one bad clause.
I run a $99 service called CounterOffer: a human review of your offer letter with a plain-English breakdown, total comp math at year 1 and year 4, the red flags spotted for you, and a negotiation script written around your actual offer, delivered by email in 24 hours. General information, not legal advice: I'm not a lawyer, and I tell you to get an attorney before signing. Details here: https://counteroffer-nw.netlify.app.
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