Zomato’s Goyal gets 10,000 applications for ‘chief of staff’ post

Zomato founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Deepinder Goyal, who stirred a debate on social media after advertising for a ‘chief of staff’ position for which the candidate will have to pay a “fee” of Rs20 lakh ($23,700), on Thursday said he received over 10,000 applications.

On Wednesday, Goyal posted the job requirement on social media, stating that the candidate should expect no salary in the first year of employment.

“I am looking for a chief of staff for myself,” Goyal wrote in the job posting.

“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),” the requirement stated.

Goyal clarified that his company was not “trying to save money” by this unusual requirement but would “contribute Rs50 lacs (equivalent to a Chief of Staff salary) to a charity of your choice.”

The employee will get paid from the second year of joining the company.

“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),” according to the job posting.

This job requirement left people divided, with some calling Goyal’s move a marketing gimmick and a way to filter out seriously ambitious candidates who cannot afford to pay Rs20 lakh as the “fee”.

However, others supported the idea, stating that the move will provide the candidate with a learning opportunity that expensive MBA courses cannot give.

In an update on Thursday, Goyal said, “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 application inbox by 6pm IST today.”