Zomato’s ‘INR 20 Lakh’ Chief Of Staff Job Listing Stirs A Storm

Zomato cofounder and CEO Deepinder Goyal put out an unusual job posting on his social media accounts on Wednesday (November 20). In his posts, Goyal said he is looking for a chief of staff who would not get paid any salary for the first year but would instead have to pay INR 20 Lakh. 

The job application grabbed eyeballs and the posts soon went viral. The job listing mentioned multiple qualities needed for the position, including “a lot of common sense, communication skills, empathy, and not a lot of experience”.

The selected person would oversee “anything and everything to build the future of Zomato”, it said. 

However, what caught the attention of internet users was the zero salary package for the first year and the INR 20 Lakh “fee”. 

“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… Think of this as a fast track learning program, for you both personally and professionally – whether or not you succeed at this role. And we want learners for this role, not résumé builders,” it read.

He also said that the company is not trying to save money by charging the fees and that the “fees” would go directly as a donation to its Feeding India initiative. Zomato will contribute another INR 50 Lakh to the charity of choice of the selected person.

He also said that the selected chief of staff would be paid the usual salary (more than INR 50 Lakh) starting second year, adding that the emoluments would be negotiable at the commencement of the second year. 

However, the posting invoked strong reactions from internet users as well as business executives. While some lauded the move, others were sceptical and raised questions over the job listing. 

A ‘Maverick’ Job Post

Amit Sachdev, chief people officer (CPO) at Tata iQ, told Inc42, “The job posting appears to be a really “maverick” way to find the right mindset candidate. The entire purpose of setting up the financial criteria is to limit the number of applications… This cuts through the whole process and gives you a narrow list of prospects from the get go.”

Sachdev also said that the posting eliminates all applicants who merely want “financial or experience gain”. 

Terming the job posting as “alternative MBA”, an X user said that other large company founders and CEOs should also create a similar program for their staff. 

“Pretty smart… This also increases Zomato’s chances of getting whom they want, without having to look at legacy indicators like college brand… The right way to look at this role for a candidate would be as an alternative to a 1 yr masters program (hence the payment),” said another user. 

Emmanuel David, independent director at Aster DM Healthcare and former chief human resources officer of Voltas, told Inc42 that the novel approach to recruitment would bring a big disruption to the whole talent acquisition process. 

Meanwhile, reacting to Goyal’s post on LinkedIn, Shantanu Deshpande, cofounder and CEO of men’s grooming startup Bombay Shaving Company, said, “Literally the first time in 9 years I have professional FOMO about a job. I’m a perfect fit I think.” 

Zomato In The Line Of Fire

However, there were also a number of users who were not pleased by the unconventional job posting and criticised the terms and conditions. Portfolio management firm CapitalMind’s founder and CEO Deepak Shenoy said, “… Not a fan of underpaying young people, or of taking money from them for a job. I used to get offers from people willing to pay us to give them a job, in 2001. Didn’t do it then. Hunger is a driver, but it shouldn’t be the consequence.”

Another user said that the job application excludes applicants who cannot afford to pay INR 20 Lakhs “fees”, adding that the fees narrows the applicants to a very specific socioeconomic class and excludes people who have financial responsibilities and lesser income.  

While some lashed out at the job listing for being akin to unpaid internships, others slammed the Indian startup founders’ “obsession with the demand for free labour”.

Some users also drew attention to the fact that very few banks would be willing to finance the job role, unlike traditional educational courses. Then, there were concerns about whether the job listing violated labour laws, including Payment of Wages Act, Minimum Wages Act, and Industrial Disputes Act.

Many pointed out that not paying salary to an employee for a year and yet taking fees attracts criminal liability, legal action and heavy penalties for coercive employment practices.

“This ain’t no learning opportunity, it’s exploitation disguised as a job. Guess IIT & business didn’t teach you the law of the land, Deepinder. Your post is a legal nightmare waiting to happen,” said a user. 

Aster DM Healthcare’s David also said that for people looking at the job listing from a socialistic perspective, a talented person who can not pay money is out of the race. 

Meanwhile, Nihar Ghosh, former chief human resource officer (CHRO) of the Emami Group, told Inc42, “Goyal has a good sense of humour. I think more than a job post, it’s a joke and nothing less than that. This, I personally think, is crude and in bad taste.” 

The unconventional job posting appears to have stirred a storm for the foodtech major, which generally receives rave reviews for its branding and marketing playbook. Now, it remains to be seen if it helps Zomato find the right person for the role. 

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