Deepinder Goyal seeks Zomato chief of staff: Forget salary, pay ₹20 lakh for the privilege

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal is looking for a Chief of Staff. However, the CEO said that whoever is offered the role will not be paid any salary for the first year and will instead have to pay ₹20 lakh to the company.

Sharing a job posting for the role on his X account, Goyal wrote: “Update: I am looking for a chief of staff for myself." The post was accompanied by a two-page job requirements document that explained the expectations from an ideal candidate and how to apply for the role.

In it, Goyal mentioned that the candidate must be “down to earth” and have “zero entitlement”. He said that the ₹20 lakh received from the candidate will be donated to non-profit organisation, Feeding India.

Take a look at the post here:

"I am looking for a Chief of Staff for myself. Someone who is hungry, has a lot of common sense, empathy, and not a lot of experience (and therefore no conditioning/baggage). Is down to earth, and has zero entitlement. Wants to do the right thing, even if it comes at the cost of displeasing others. Has Grade A communication skills and most importantly, has a learning mindset," the post read.

What is the job?

The job entails building "anything and everything" for the future of Zomato and its other brands like Blinkit, District, Hyperpure, and Feeding India.

Goyal said that the job will pay in "10x more learnings than a 2-year degree from a top management school" including working with him. He added that the role is unconventional which is why the company is making it "unattractive for most people".

Why pay to work at Zomato?

The post also answered the obvious question of why someone would pay to work. "We believe that people who apply for this role should do it for the learning opportunity it presents, rather than for a fancy well paying job which will make you look cool in front of yourself, or the people you want to impress," it said.

"There is no salary for this role for the first year. You will have to, in fact, pay ₹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). At our end, we want to demonstrate that we are not trying to save money here - we will contribute ₹50 lacs (equivalent to a Chief of Staff salary) to a charity of your choice. Second year onwards, we will start paying you the usual salary (definitely more than 50 lacs, but something we will only talk about at the start of Year 2)," the document read.

How to apply?

Goyal said he was looking for learners and not "resume builders" and the job is "a fast track learning program". To apply for the role, you can email a 200-word cover letter to d@zomato.com, he added.