One for the headhunting community and those who would recruit - does being on a 3 month notice period hinder your chances of getting a new role ie put potential employers off (maybe not even interview you to begin with) and how common do people you know who have been on 3 months notice managed to negotiate this down once they have given notice in?DC

Not a hinderence at all , in fact expected at a certain level of seniority.Shortening it is easy if you are on the bench, unwanted, privy to ongoing commercially sensitive info etcMore difficult if on a client site and a key member enabling billing of a more junior teamOccasionally firms will "spoil" by keeping you on gardening leave - fully paid, not allowed in the office, not allowed to work elsewhere until notice is up. Tends to be for more senior staff or where you've p1$$ed them off.Either way any reputable firm will wait for you ( assuming perm not contract)

Agree with Cool.3 Months notice is not usually an issue and is expected at more senior levels. If you moving from MC to industry you may be able to negotiate the notice period down, unlikely if moving MC to MC.