Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal’s job posting of chief of staff on Linkedin and other social media platforms led to a public debate. According to the job posting, candidates need to pay Rs 20 lakh and will not get paid for the first year.

According to Goyal, this chief of staff position would offer 10x more learning than a two-year degree from a top management school. One of the other perks of this job is the chance to work with Goyal and some of the smartest folks in consumer tech.

The Rs 20 lakh paid by the selected candidate will be given to Feeding India. Additionally, Zomato will contribute Rs50 lakh, equivalent to the chief of staff's annual salary to a charity of the candidate’s choice.

Goyal mentioned in the job posting that Zomato will start paying its chief of staff from the second year onwards to clear the confusion. According to him, the salary would be more than Rs50 lakh but Zomato will talk about it at the start of the second year only.

However, the unconventional job posting led to a mixed bag of reactions from social media users. Many LinkedIn users found it out of reach for talented candidates coming from less privileged backgrounds who cannot afford the upfront fee Rs 20 lakh and take care of their basic needs for one year.

Navendu Malkani, head corporate C&B and HR Excellence, commented on Linkedin, “There seems an exclusivity Issue here. The requirement for an upfront fee of INR 20 lakh makes this opportunity inaccessible to most candidates. It effectively restricts the pool of talent to those who are already financially privileged, rather than being inclusive of candidates from diverse economic backgrounds.”

He further adds that also, Feeding India is a part of Zomato’s CSR initiatives, and this approach seems leveraging job applications to fund a company-led initiative. “Instead of requiring candidates to pay 20 lakh, the company can directly donate 50 lakh to Feeding India or other charities. This would make the role more accessible to a broader audience while maintaining hashtag#Zomato's commitment to hashtag#CSR.”

Another LinkedIn user Neville Patel, commented, so the super rich kids whose family already owns charities and NGOs can give Rs 20 lacs and get back Rs 50 lacs? (Charity of choice). “This takes out many really deserving candidates as they will never be able to afford 20 lacs plus work 1 year for free. I have been a Zomato Gold customer for years but this has definitely made me think about Swiggy for the 1st time. Pathetic,” Patel posted on Linkedin.

Majority of the people found the Zomato's job posting as limited only to those who can afford exorbitant costs, such as a 20-lakh donation.