4 min readNew DelhiNov 21, 2024 12:07 PM IST
First published on: Nov 21, 2024 at 12:07 PM IST
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal recently shared a rather unconventional job offer that has surprised many people. He’s looking for a Chief of Staff, but with a twist: the selected candidate won’t be paid for the first year. Instead, they’ll be asked to pay Rs 20 lakh. However, this isn’t a personal fee to Zomato—it will be donated entirely to Feeding India, an organisation dedicated to combating hunger.
Goyal made this announcement on his X account, explaining that the Chief of Staff will play a central role in shaping the future of Zomato, working on major initiatives like Blinkit, District, Hyperpure, and Feeding India. While the financial aspect of the role may seem unusual, Goyal emphasised that the payment is not about the company saving money. “We will contribute 50 lacs (equivalent to a Chief of Staff salary) to a charity of your choice,” he noted in the post.
In terms of qualifications, the job calls for someone with “a lot of common sense, empathy, and not a lot of experience.” Goyal stressed that this is more about personal growth than professional credentials, adding that the chosen candidate would gain more from this experience than any MBA could offer. While the role offers no salary in the first year, it comes with the promise of a regular salary of over Rs 50 LPA starting from the second year.
See the post:
The post has recently gained significant attention on social media due to its controversial details. Goyal is receiving criticism for demanding Rs 20 lakhs while not offering any salary for the initial year.
As a result, many users are voicing their opinions about the situation on various platforms.
One X user wrote, “We are entering an era now that this will be normalised. Unpaid internships are already prevalent, we will now have translated it to full-time roles. Increases difficulty for the unprivileged to stand out. You need to be born really privileged to compete.”
Another user with the handle @FarziCricketer took a jibe on the offer, “Farzicricketer is looking for a chief of staff. Requirement: No degree needed. Salary: No salary for first year. Instead you will have to pay ₹30 lakhs. But you will get paid ₹1 crore from the second year. Job duration: 1 year.”
The situation has sparked a flood of memes and movie clips that reflect the general sentiment about the scenario.
One user even gave a suggestion to Zomato competitor Swiggy. “Bhai @Swiggy this is the right opportunity to get your person into Zomato. Fund his or her 20L payment and also pay the person 50L pa. Fully updated info about all that Zomato owns right on ur desk daily morning. Totally worth it,” he wrote
The post has garnered more than 7.3 million views to date.
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal faces backlash over job offer (Image source: @Uttupaaji/X) 
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