ammoQ:Here in Austria, 3 months are quite common; of course this makes it harder to find a job unless you just don't care, since the employer can hardly do anything if you go earlier (other than giving you a bad reference). BTW, waiting 3 monts for good people is normal, too, trust me ;-)RayS:MET - 3 months notice???? That's completely absurd. Unless you're in a critical position high up in a company, e.g. CEO or something, that's just outrageous. It's got to seriously impact your job-seeking potential, too. How many companies will be willing to wait a quarter of a year for you to become available?
I've never met anyone who had to give more than one month notice. (UK here, too)
I gave 6 months notice at the last job I left. Not out of any loyalty to the company itself. Got a double christmas bonus in May to boot!