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  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

Billionaire food app CEO wants you to pay for the privilege of working with him

(2024/11/21)


The CEO of Indian restaurant booking and food deliver app Zomato has posted a job ad in which he seeks a chief of staff who is willing to pay for the privilege of working with him.

The ad, posted to [1]X , opens with the innocuous statement that Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal wants to hire an ambitious chief of staff. Experience is not necessary – he thinks it's overrated – but a learning mindset is required along with strong communication skills and a willingness to do the right thing even if it ruffles feathers.

The job description is a little broad: "Anything and everything to build the future of Zomato" and its associated brands.

[2]

The ad also admits the gig is "not a conventional role with the usual perks," and is designed to be "unattractive for most people" – because it isn't paid.

[3]

[4]

Indeed, Goyal wants the successful applicant to pay ₹2 million ($23,700) for the privilege of working alongside him.

The CEO thinks that's worth it as the job involves "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."

[5]

But clearly not the most empathetic people.

"We believe 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 people you want to impress," the ad reads.

[6]Weekends were a mistake, says Infosys co-founder Narayama Murthy

[7]Baidu's PR head has a PR problem after workaholic social media posts

[8]Chinese developers protested insanely long work hours. Now the nation's courts agree

[9]In South Korea the new normal future of work is ... a 52-hour work week! (Down from 68)

The job has some tiny upsides. One is that you don't have to submit your CV to get the job: Goyal wants emails of 200 or fewer words. Another is that Zomato will donate ₹5 million to a charity of the successful recruit's choice when they join. But even that payment isn't entirely altruistic: Goyal wrote it's being made to demonstrate that the zero-salary scheme isn't being done to save money.

A third is that Zomato will pay in the second year.

[10]

Zomato's "job" ad. Source: X – Click to enlarge

Wealth-watching outlet Forbes [11]rates Goyal a billionaire.

Response to the "job" offer is mixed, with some suggesting it's marvellously entrepreneurial and others condemning it as exploitative.

One [12]comment on X compares Goyal to Infosys co-founder Narayama Murthy – who regularly advocates for [13]70-hour work weeks and recently opined that introducing two-day weekends was a mistake.

[14]

The commenter opined: "Even Narayana Murthy seems like a saint after reading this." ®

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[1] https://x.com/deepigoyal/status/1859215826425159991

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zz8S2NJudNbAEDmQc2xmawAAAAU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zz8S2NJudNbAEDmQc2xmawAAAAU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zz8S2NJudNbAEDmQc2xmawAAAAU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zz8S2NJudNbAEDmQc2xmawAAAAU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/infosys_workaholic_founder/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/09/baidu_pr_chief/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/30/can_china_wean_itself_off/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/24/south_korea_52_hour_working_week/

[10] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/11/21/supplied_zomato_job_ad.jpg

[11] https://www.forbes.com/profile/deepinder-goyal/

[12] https://x.com/theskindoctor13/status/1859284905680838734

[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/infosys_workaholic_founder/

[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zz8S2NJudNbAEDmQc2xmawAAAAU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/



Wow! Just, Wow!

Lil Endian

Our globalised community really does let mega-narcissistic shits rise to the top.

Re: Wow! Just, Wow!

Khaptain

When has this ever not been the case ?

Re: Wow! Just, Wow!

Lil Endian

Indeed. Now globalisation increases exposure to the extent that the most outrageous anti-altruistic creeps find like-minded followers and moronic victims to massage their egos.

(I'd be scared if I wasn't so self-absorbed resilient!)

One thing that's a given

Chasxith

....is that Linkedin will be full of vomit-inducing fawning posts, mostly AI written, about what a "visionary" this guy is. What a dick.

He thinks experience is overrated

Pascal Monett

Good.

He can resign then, and let me take his position.

Re: He thinks experience is overrated

Oliver Mayes

He thinks that exprience is overrated, then offers to pay the applicant entirely in experience.

condemning it as exploitative

Neil Barnes

It doesn't need condemning. It's self-evident.

Any situation where I do work for you, _irrespective_ of any learning I may do on the job, is a situation where I get paid by you.

Because any training you may do - formally or otherwise - is fundamentally for your benefit. It might benefit me, but that's not the primary reason you're doing it.

Is there a rule that says all 'industry leaders' have to complete sociopaths, or does it just turn out that way?

Learning Experience

OldGeezer

1. Get an AI to generate an application letter for you.

2. Use an anonymous email service to send said application letter to the dude.

3. He learns what an idjit idea this is.

Not that I am advocating DOSing the very busy important man or his minions.

Re: Learning Experience

Felonmarmer

"Goyal wants emails of 200 or fewer words."

So 200 random words, or cut 200 words out of an online article about onions say, arrange into alphabetical order and send!

Re: Learning Experience

Doctor Syntax

I think I could write a suitable email in exactly 1% of that word count.

Re: Learning Experience

Lil Endian

1. Get an AI to generate an application letter for you.

2. Use an anonymous email service to send said application letter to the dude.

3. He learns what an idjit idea this is.

3. Automate with a script.

4. Rinse and repeat ad infintum.

5. Know the idjit won't learn anything.

Re: Learning Experience

lglethal

You seem to be under the mistaken impression that this idiot, will actually do anything above looking at the 3 to 4 submissions handed to him by the poor minion who has to actually filter through this crap. He will then attend the interviews, where he will make his decision based on which one is most willing to lick his boots, as well as which one will look best in the various press releases, standing behind him and looking at him adoringly.

No experience necessary, also no brains, simply look good, and be willing to bend over for the Man...

Emperors and Clothes

Anonymous Coward

What this demonstrates is that enormous C-Suite salaries are unnecessary. Shareholders take note!

A step down from an Internship

Lazlo Woodbine

So rather than having an unpaid intern, he wants the intern to pay to be an intern.

Surely this is a new spin on the Four Yorkshiremen sketch "we had to pay t'mill owner for permission to come to work"

heyrick

Between this and what Narayama Murthy recently said, I wonder about the work ethic promoted in India. I mean, is it okay for your boss to exploit you into an early grave and get the riches from doing so? Rise up, people!

Doctor Syntax

You may have hit on an explanation here. He takes a look at Murthy's approach and, being the competitive soul that he is, wants to outdo him. This is the response. Now it's you move Mt Murthy.

Naich

I think the next stage involves whips.

What a dick head

cookieMonster

So far up his own arse he risks turning into a singularity

Re: What a dick head

JugheadJones

He's not the only one, there's a pile of them in the US making the news all the time, in fact it wouldn't surprise me if this is where the desease started :)

X marks the spot

Evil Scot

I would ask where. But...

Nothing New Here

The Oncoming Scorn

My old careers teacher, who was stationed in India, was part of a party that arrested a Indian railway porter for petty theft\burglary, when questioning him as to why he had to resort to this they were told that for the privilege of his job he had to pay hims manager\supervisor his wages for two years & he had a family to support.

They were so horrified at this, they managed a whip round from the entire company to give to his wife & family to help support them while he went to prison.

Re: Nothing New Here

Doctor Syntax

And what did they do about the supervisor?

200 words or less..

Bebu sa Ware

" I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. "

I suspect this chap has a bloody great needle and I do encourage him to pass a camel through its eye but I suspect he is destined to dwell amongst the flames of the dark kitchens of the hereafter.

Steinbach's Guideline for Systems Programming:
Never test for an error condition you don't know how to handle.