‘I have a family, how do you guys adjust cadence for people with outside commitments - eg let’s say I need to leave every day at 5’.
Gah, there’s no way to ask without setting off the alarm bells with these bastards.
This is actually the problematic mindset I'm trying to avoid. I don't want to work at a place where leaving at 5 is "adjusting cadence." I want to work at a place where management sets appropriate timelines, and we work hard to meet those timelines -- during the work day. The company I work for right now has a culture of work hard 9-5 then disappear. It's great.
I can't say for certain whether that's cost me a job before, but I'm also probably not missing much if that's the case.
The key thing is really BATNA because that gives you the confidence to say what you've gotta say.
That strikes me as a good indicator that you probably don't want to work there. Why is it unreasonable to ask if you are regularly expected to work more than 40 hours per week?