Need HR advice ( and interview first impression)

Need HR advice ( and interview first impression)

hi, I recently had an initial call with hiring manager.

At the end of the call, he mentioned he will invite me as next step to meet the team, several leaders and directors for half a day.

this role is for a research management position

a few things give me pause…

1. He spoke about the person leaving the role. Mentioned her by name and stated that he didn’t like the way she oversaw her team.he mentioned words like ‘disconnected’, ‘lack of transparency’, ‘not experiencing pain points of the team’ etc
2. He asked me where i was from since i have an accent. This made me uncomfortable… after the interview i realized that it’s an illegal question. EEOC, as you cannot discriminate on national origin etc. Although I didn’t get that feeling from him during the call, more that he was curious and missteped… since he went on to mention people on the team excited that i speak X language and they looking forward to it.
3. When i asked what personalities fit best on the team, he responded that there’s ‘strong personalities on the team that don’t like to be didacted to’
4. he mentioned being recently promoted to his leadership role for only the last 6 months. The role that he is hiring for is out of his expertise area and has no idea what the person does regularly. he used terms like ‘i am laid back’ and ‘as long as the work gets done and the team feels supported, that’s all he needs and will be happy’. He sees himself more as a support person to help or strategize when needed.

i thanked him for his candidness and transparency.

what are your overall impressions?

i’ve been interviewing with different companies for months and need to start a new role asap. There is no perfect place and I am telling myself to meet the team and trust my gut on whether I proceed after that.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, suggestions and lived experience!