I recently applied for a position at a large company, and to my surprise, the director of the department I would be joining reached out to me directly for the initial conversation instead of a recruiter. He wants to schedule an hour-long meeting to discuss my background and the role in detail. While I'm excited about this opportunity, I find it a bit unusual since I typically only meet the director during the final interview stage, assuming I make it that far. In my last experience where I interacted directly with a director early on, it was with a small company that had no dedicated recruiting team, and I ended up getting the job since they were in urgent need of filling several roles. This time, I know there are multiple positions available, but it doesn’t seem like they are in a rush to hire, especially since the job listing was posted just a few days ago. I’m curious about how common this practice is and would appreciate any tips on how to effectively discuss my experience during the meeting. I often struggle with the 'tell me about yourself' question, and I suspect that has hindered my chances in the past.