Nobody paid anything to work with us: Zomato CEO's hiring update on Chief of Staff post

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal clarifies controversial hiring process, with 30 candidates selected from 18,000 applications.

Zomato Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal, who recently faced online outrage for the eligibility criteria for a Chief of Staff vacancy, said on Wednesday (February 5, 2025) that the company received over 18,000 applications, with 30 candidates offered various positions. He also clarified that "nobody paid anything to work with us."

In a "hiring update" post on X, he shared that 18 out of the 30 selected individuals have already joined Zomato (and other group companies like Blinkit) in "high-impact roles" and "they're being handsomely compensated" for the value they bring.

In an unusual job vacancy posting for Chief of Staff, the Zomato CEO in November asked prospective candidates to pay Rs 20 lakh for the first year, which in turn will be donated to non-profit Feeding India with the company offering to contribute Rs 50 lakh to a charity of the candidate's choice.

He had claimed that the role would provide "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".

Mr. Goyal said four of the 18 people who have already joined work directly with him and 2 of them are in Chief of Staff roles.

Further, he said that among the 18 who have already joined, four work directly with Mr. Goyal, and two have been appointed as chiefs of staff.

"And we're not done. With 18,000+ applications, we're still carefully sifting through this amazing talent pool. This isn't just a one-time hiring sprint, it's a long-term investment in the people who will build the future with us. We'll keep reaching out to the right folks, slowly but surely," Mr. Goyal concluded.