Zomato's 'Chief of Staff' Role Draws Over 10,000 Applications Despite Rs 20 Lakh Entry Fee

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New Delhi: Zomato’s CEO Deepinder Goyal revealed that he received over 10,000 applications for the Chief of Staff position despite the role sparking controversy online. The job offers no salary for the first year. It requires candidates to pay a Rs 20 lakh fee. It will be donated to the non-profit feeding India. Zomato also pledged to contribute Rs 50 lakh to a charity of the selected candidate’s choice.

Deepinder Goyal, in his post announced that he is searching for a “chief of staff” to work closely with him. The job description states the role involves “anything and everything to build the future of Zomato.” including its ventures like Blinkit, District, Hyperpure, and Feeding India.

Highlighting the unique opportunity, Goyal claimed the position offers "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." However, he clarified that "this role is not a conventional role with the usual perks that such jobs come with."

Update 2: we have over 10,000 applications, a lot of them well thought through, mixed between -

1. Those who have all the money
2. Those who have some of the money
3. Those who say they don’t have the money
4. Those who really don’t have the money

We will be closing the… https://t.co/8a6XhgeOGk — Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) November 21, 2024

From the second year onward, Goyal stated, "We will start paying you the usual salary (definitely more than Rs 50 lakh), but something we will only talk about at the start of Year 2)." However, the job posting has faced heavy criticism on social media, with many users calling it exploitative and unfair. Some have also questioned the ethics of demanding a fee for a role that offers no salary in the first year.