Zomato Ceo Deepinder Goyal's Unique Job Offer: 'Pay Rs 20 Lakh for Chief of Staff Role, No Salary..'

Zomato CEO and founder Deepinder Goyal, on Wednesday, 20 November, posted a unique job vacancy that has shocked the internet. The LinkedIn post shared by Deepinder Goyal mentioned that he is looking for a "Chief of Staff" at Zomato. However, the requirements of the job have sparked a heated debate online.

The job description read, "Anything and everything to build the future of Zomato, including Blinkit, District, Hyperpure, and Feeding India." However, the twist is that the Chief of Staff candidate will have to pay an opportunity "fee" of ₹20 lakh to the food delivery giant.

He further mentioned that the candidate, unlike a conventional job, will not be paid a salary for the first year and will, in fact, have to donate ₹20 lakh to Feeding India.

The post also highlighted that the salary of a Chief of Staff is ₹50 lakh, and the company will contribute the same amount to a charity of the selected candidate's choice.
 

"From the second year onwards, the salary of over ₹50 lakh will be paid to the candidate," the job description for Zomato's Chief of Staff read.

"Second year onwards, we will start paying you the usual salary (definitely more than ₹50 lakh, but something we will only talk about at the start of Year 2)," the post continued.

Why is Zomato Providing this Unconventional Opportunity?

Goyal's post conveyed that this opportunity should be viewed as a learning experience rather than just a job opportunity.

"Put differently, think of this as a fast-track learning program, both personally and professionally – whether or not you succeed at this role. And we want learners for this role, not résumé builders," said Goyal in the job posting.

He also mentioned that the candidate would receive “10x more learnings than a 2-year degree from a top management school, working with me and some of the smartest folks in consumer tech."

Internet Divided

The post has sparked debate, with many criticizing the idea.

A user wrote, "They will surely go hungry after taking a loan for ₹20 lakh."

Another remarked, "Bad idea. Please pay. Three months into it, if you feel the person is not the right fit, they will lose a lot of money and gain nothing but a bitter experience. Young people need money, not the afterglow of charity."

A third user defended the opportunity and wrote, "I know people are commenting various stupid things about 'paid internship.' Leaving this note here as someone who got the chance to work one year with @deepigoyal: if you're looking for a career in Management Consulting/Strategy, this is worth waaaay more than ₹20 lakh!"

A fourth user asked how the bills would be paid: "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 lakh. 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!"

"All that is fine, but will banks give a ₹20 lakh education loan for a Zomato offer letter?" a last comment read.