Understanding Terms Before Contract Negotiation

Pilots: Read the Fine Print Before You Sign An Employment Agreement... An Aviation Recruiter's Perspective... 👩💻 Pay, schedule, and benefits are important, but one factor that often gets overlooked is the "employment agreement" or "contract." Before committing, take a step back and ask yourself: Does this contract provide "measurable" value for the required timeframe? 🔹 What is the company investing in your training or career growth? Cost of training? 🔹 Are there financial incentives that justify the commitment?  🔹 Does the contract length align with the benefits provided? If a contract feels too restrictive, negotiation might be possible. Here are a few tips: ✅ Understand the Terms – Know exactly what you’re committing to, including any penalties for leaving early.  ✅ Ask Questions – Clarify why certain terms exist and if there’s flexibility.  ✅ Propose Alternatives – If the timeframe feels too long, suggest a shorter period or request additional benefits that justify the commitment.  ✅ Get It in Writing – Verbal agreements mean nothing if they aren’t included in the final contract. Every opportunity is different, but a fair agreement should benefit both the company and the pilot. Take the time to evaluate, negotiate, and ensure the terms align with your career goals. Once you sign, honor your commitment. I often hear pilots say they will just get out of the contract if things change. Most employers these days are skilled at writing contracts that are enforceable. A contract is a two-way agreement. If circumstances change, handle any necessary discussions with integrity and transparency. #PilotJobs #PilotLife #AviationCareers #KnowYourWorth #AviationIndustry #PilotContracts #CareerGrowth #AviationJobs #NegotiationTips

Here are some construction contract fundamentals that most project owners miss. After negotiating hundreds of construction contracts, I've found that most project failures trace back to the same fundamental misunderstandings. These are some helpful basics that can help you understand projects better: Most projects use either lump sum or cost-plus contracts. Understanding the difference is critical. Lump sum (fixed price) = (typically) closed book. Cost-plus = open book, but need to be properly negotiated because otherwise, they can have significant conflicts of interest. In cost-plus agreements, the fee rises as costs increase, which can create a misalignment between contractor and owner objectives. That's why understanding how all contract clauses work together is crucial. Bonus thought: GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price) isn't a contract type. It's an amendment to a cost-plus agreement that locks in a price ceiling after trade pricing is secured. Many owners misunderstand this. The contract contingency isn't a slush fund. It needs clear parameters about what costs it can and cannot cover. Many owners don't realize they can exclude certain contractor errors from contingency coverage. Always include this in cost-plus contracts. Contract templates aren't just for convenience - they're strategic tools that save legal hours and ensure your preferred terms are included. When possible, do not negotiate other people's forms. Your construction accounting should never rely solely on the contractor's reporting. Independent tracking is essential, especially when managing investor funds. Change orders are contractual documents that extend your original agreement. Signing them without thorough review establishes precedent for future COs. When you carefully review change orders and enforce high standards, you actually reduce the number of unjustified COs submitted later. Most contractors respond to clear expectations. Development projects have natural ebbs and flows. Losing communication with the team during the "boring" periods - permit approvals, financing delays, etc - often causes more damage than the busy phases. Your lender will have specific requirements for insurance, indemnity, and contingency terms. Consult them early in contract negotiations to avoid costly surprises late in the process. Managing a project team without a basic understanding of the contracts that reign the relationships is a mistake. The best approach is having a team member who both manages the project and understands every contract term. This eliminates costly information gaps, and ensures that the scope that was required, negotiated, and paid for is actually fulfilled. Final thought: The most profitable development projects aren't distinguished by fancy design, but by the quality of their contracts and management systems, which are directly behind excellent execution. The paperwork isn't sexy, but it's where many projects succeed or fail.

I recently reviewed enterprise vendor terms that contained 15 hyperlinks and each of those hyperlinks contained more hyperlinks. It was like Inception for the contracts world. Here's how I approached this review. And keep in mind that because the engagement was considered "high risk" based on the amount and types of data we would be sharing with the vendor, there were no shortcuts. This required pure human review from start to finish. 1. I reviewed the entire agreement from start to finish to get the lay of the land. I annotated questions and notes to myself in the margins. This helps me process the information from a bird's eye view before I get into the weeds. 2. I reviewed each of the hyperlinks and noted which ones I thought should be attached as exhibits because the stability of those terms were critical to us (the customer). And by the way, I found some very sneaky terms in there! 3. I gave the business and procurement a heads-up that this wasn't going to be a "quick review" and we all needed to collaborate internally to thoroughly review the terms. Setting expectations is key during complex contract reviews. 4. I went through the agreement again and started adding my redlines and internal comments into the document. I see redlining complex agreements as a layering on process. Each time I read it, I learn something new. 5. I sent the internal only redlines to my internal team of business and subject matter experts as a Word share link so we could all collaborate simultaneously. 6. While they all reviewed their parts, I worked closely with procurement to pre-negotiate three key items. One of which was that the hyperlinks needed to be attached as exhibits and static. After several emails and one conversation, they agreed. (Lessons learned: Persistence is a successful negotiation tactic. Ask for what you want. Vendors have multiple versions of the same agreement.) 7. Spent a couple hours reconciling the internal redline version we had already started reviewing with the new version the vendor sent over. Would it have been better to start with the pre-negotiation? Yes, but in this case the engagement was "urgent" and the business wanted to get going on their review. 8. Set up an internal meeting to review internal redlines with the business and subject matter experts. We were able to answer a lot of questions and determine next steps. This is my favorite and the most valuable part of the entire review process. 9. I sent the redlines over to the vendor with a cover email highlighting the top three most important redlines to us. We requested a call after they had a chance to go over our redlines. 10. Wrote this post. I'd love to know how you handle hyperlinks in vendor terms. Do vendors really think that we as customers will be ok with open-ended links that can be freely modified without our consent? #hyperlinks #contractreviewtips #vendoragreements