News: Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal’s Chief of Staff hiring escapade attracts 30 outstanding candidates

Recruitment

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal’s Chief of Staff hiring escapade attracts 30 outstanding candidates

Zomato's CEO finally shared an update on the ‘Chief of Staff’ hiring and to be clear, no one has paid anything to work with the company.
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal’s Chief of Staff hiring escapade attracts 30 outstanding candidates

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal posted a ‘Chief of Staff’ hiring update on X.com in November 2024, and chaos unfolded on the platform.

Deepinder Goyal on X.com

The job description shared by Deepinder, for all fair reasons, was funny. It went viral, inviting some marvelously funny (and some serious) comments from Xers.

Deepinder Goyal Chief of Staff hiring on X.com

What X users commonly noted was the unconventional perks and salary package—wherein the salary was ‘missing.’ Instead, it sought a candidate who could, in fact, pay INR 20 lakhs as a fee for this opportunity, with Deepinder stating that 100% of the amount would be donated to Feeding India. Additionally, he clarified that this offer was not a cost-saving strategy and, to demonstrate this, Zomato would donate INR 50 lakhs in return to the selected candidate’s choice of charitable trust.

Deepinder Goyal Chief of Staff hiring

The application process for ‘Chief of Staff’ was the easiest part; deciding to apply was the most challenging, as no perks or salary were offered—rather, the role was positioned as a great learning experience. Zomato's CEO clearly stated that this role is not something to flex to look cool in front of others – “We want learners for this role, not résumé builders.”

However, this did not stop interested candidates, and Zomato received a whopping 18,000 job applications for the role. Deepinder eventually had to post a ‘no longer accepting applications’ update on X.com. 

Zomato CEO on X.com

He also clarified that ‘pay INR 20 lakhs to get this job’ was never part of the plan to hire a ‘Chief of Staff’ and expressed hope that ‘pay the company to get the job’ does not catch on as a trend or norm.

Deepinder Zomato CEO X.com

Today, Zomato's CEO finally shared an update on the ‘Chief of Staff’ hiring. While the names have not been revealed yet, it was stated that out of “over 18,000 applications, Zomato had the chance to engage with more than 150 exceptionally talented individuals for the ‘Chief of Staff’ role. After a rigorous selection process, 30 outstanding candidates were offered roles, with 18 already joining Zomato and its group companies, including Blinkit, in high-impact positions. These individuals are being competitively compensated for the value they bring—and to be clear, no one has paid anything to work with the company.”  

Zomato CEO hiring

Interestingly, the list of selected candidates includes startup founders who built companies from scratch, engineers who rewrote entire tech stacks over a weekend, operators who transformed chaos into scale, and a handful of brilliant young minds fresh out of college—all individuals Zomato believes will help shape its future.  

Among those who have joined, four are working directly with the leadership team, including two in Chief of Staff roles.  

Deepinder ended the post by saying, “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.”  

While we’re still wondering about the selection criteria, one of the ‘curious’ candidates shared his experience on X.com, stating, “Sent out the mail purely out of curiosity and ended up having one of the best interview experiences. Didn’t make the final cut, but the conversation and feedback have helped me tremendously over the past few months. Grateful for the opportunity!”  

Zomato Chief of Staff hiring

While the 'Chief of Staff' opportunity at Zomato has ended, Deepinder has begun another search—on a funny note again.

Zomato Hiring

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Topics: Recruitment, #Hiring, #HRCommunity, #Trending

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