A job posting from Indian food delivery company Zomato has made rounds on social media for asking the would-be employee to pay for the role.
The viral job posting, which was for a new chief of staff, was posted by Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal on LinkedIn.
"I am looking for a chief of staff for myself," Goyal said on the advertisement.
The CEO underscored in the ad that he wants someone with a "learning mindset" and one who does not have a lot of experience, so they don't have any conditioning or baggage.
The would-be employee would receive 10 times more learnings than a two-year degree from a top management school, according to the ad. And they would get to work with Goyal and "some of the smartest folks in consumer tech."
But there is a catch: the employee would not receive a salary in their first year and they should pay a "fee" of 20 lakhs.
According to the ad, 100% of the fee will be paid in the form of a donation directly to Feeding India.
"At our end, we want to demonstrate that we are not trying to save money here - we will contribute 50 lakhs (equivalent to a chief of staff salary) to a charity of your choice," it added.
The usual pay will be granted on the employee's second year, which the ad noted will be "definitely more than 50 lakhs," depending on their agreement.
"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," the job ad read.
"Put differently, think of this as a fast-track learning programme, for you both personally and professionally - whether or not you succeed at this role. And we want learners for this role, not resume builders."
The job has since received more than 14,000 reactions, 2,000 comments, and 500 reposts since it was posted on November 20.
Source: Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal's LinkedIn account
Goyal said in an update that they have received over 18,000 applications for the role, but revealed that those who mentioned money in their applications would be getting rejected, as the required fee was "never part of the plan."
"This wasn't just another hiring post. As some people pointed out, the 'you have to pay us 20 lakhs' was merely a filter, to find people who had the power to appreciate the opportunity of a fast-track career," Goyal said.
"We are going to reject most of the applications who have the money, or even talked about the money."
The CEO then added that the "pay the company to get a job" requirement is "not cool" and he hopes that it doesn't become the norm.
"Money is an essential thing to keep people's lives running, and I believe in paying more than market rate, so that money doesn't come in the way of great work."
Since being posted last November 21, Goyal's revelation has received more than 26,000 reactions, 1,000 comments, and 500 reposts.
