Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal offers chief of staff job with zero salary, says 'Pay Rs 20 lakh fee'

Gurugram-based Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has sparked widespread debate after announcing a unique job posting for a Chief of Staff role that offers no salary in the first year. 

Instead, the selected candidate will be required to pay Rs 20 lakh as a fee for the opportunity, which will be donated to Feeding India. Notably, the company would also contribute Rs 50 lakh to any charity. 

"There is no salary for this role for the first year. You will have to, in fact, pay Rs 20 lacs for this opportunity. 100% of this "fee" will be paid in the form of a donation directly to Feeding India (if you are offered the role and you accept it)." the listing read.

The unconventional job listing, shared by Goyal on X (formerly Twitter), highlights qualities such as hunger, a lot of common sense, empathy, not a lot of experience, being down to earth, learning mindset, Grade A communication skills, and zero entitlement as prerequisites for applicants. 

Explaining the job description, Goyal wrote, "Anything and everything to build the future of Zomato (including Blinkit, District, Hyperpure, and Feeding India)." 

In return, as Goyal claims, the candidate will gain "10x more learnings than a two-year degree from a top management school," working closely with him and leaders in consumer tech.

Interestingly, after the first year, a competitive salary exceeding Rs 50 lakh will be offered, with further details to be disclosed only at the start of the second year. 

He explained the fee structure is designed to attract applicants prioritizing personal and professional growth over monetary gain.

"Please email a cover letter (up to 200 words) to me at d@zomato.com. No resume attachments required," Goyal added.

Netizens reaction

However, the unusual terms of the role have drawn mixed reactions, with some users praising the innovative approach while others questioned its fairness in terms of accessibility.

"Bad idea. Please pay. 3 months into it, if you feel the person is not the right fit. He will lose a lot of money. And will gain nothing but a bitter experience. Young people need money, not the afterglow of charity," a user wrote.

"All that is fine, but will banks give a 20 lakh education loan for a zomato offer letter?" another asked.

No, we just want one person who gets the point. Not 100.

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) November 20, 2024

I know people are commenting various stupid things about "paid internship"

Leaving this note here as someone who got the chance to work 1 year with @deepigoyal, if you're looking for a career in Management Consulting / Strategy, this is worth waaaay more than ₹20L!

— Arnav Gupta (@championswimmer) November 20, 2024

Asking 20L from little experience adds an artificial selection for rich kids with daddys money.

This means the candidate pool is of folks with high risk taking capacity but also possible that the candidate pool is of people quite distant from 'India'

Interesting.

— Aman (@AmanHasNoName_2) November 20, 2024

"We’re trying to normalize working without a salary to seem cool and different, but let’s be real, a job is supposed to help you pay bills and put food on the table. You can’t expect people to work for free and also shell out ₹20 lakhs. Zomato is just a company, not a country, for people to make such sacrifices. Three months is sufficient to assess a candidate, without paying 20 lakh!" a third expressed.