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If you get an offer, it’s reasonable to ask the hiring manager to meet for a coffee and discuss some of this stuff before accepting. They might try to sell you on the role a bit but you can get answers to these questions, and if they refuse to meet you that’s a signal in and of itself.

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This is a much better way to do it imo. The 5 minutes at the end is usually just a courtesy, and the interviewer isn't expecting to get grilled.

Some (not all) hiring managers even treat this as an additional way to assess you, to see if you're the type of person who has done their research on the company and asks intelligent questions.

Much better to set expectations upfront and ask for half hour chat with the hiring manager (or even other team members such a tech leads) separate to the interview.

> The 5 minutes at the end is usually just a courtesy, and the interviewer isn't expecting to get grilled.

This is not true in my experience. Questions are expected and insightful questions have been considered major marks in favor of candidates. A lack of questions is seen unfavorably.

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