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Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal recently shared an update on the Chief of Staff role which had initially sparked controversy due to its Rs 20 lakh joining fee.
Sanjay Krishna is a senior product manager at a tech app.
Last year, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal grabbed attention when he announced a Chief of Staff opening at the company. The role initially stirred controversy because of a Rs 20 lakh joining fee but it was later clarified that this was not an actual charge. Instead, it was a screening method to identify serious candidates. Recently, Goyal shared an update on the overwhelming response to the role and revealed that the company has received more than 18,000 applications for the position. Among the thousands of applicants was Sanjay Krishna, a senior product manager at a tech app, who decided to apply for the role out of sheer curiosity. Sanjay shared about the interview experience on X and expressed gratitude for the opportunity despite not making it to the final round.
Sanjay described the interview process as one of the best experiences he has ever had. He mentioned that the conversation and feedback he received during the process helped him “tremendously” in his professional journey over the following months.
In his post, Sanjay wrote, “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!”
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! https://t.co/edxsxCXTM7— Sanjay Krishna (@SjayKH) February 5, 2025
The CEO in his update wrote, “We started with 18,000+ applications and have had the privilege of meeting over 150 incredibly talented individuals. From this, 30 exceptional people received offers, and 18 have already joined Zomato (and other group companies like Blinkit) in high-impact roles. They’re being handsomely compensated for the value they bring, and nobody paid anything to work with us.”
Hiring update on the Chief of Staff –We started with 18,000+ applications and have had the privilege of meeting over 150 incredibly talented individuals. From this, 30 exceptional people received offers, and 18 have already joined Zomato (and other group companies like Blinkit)… https://t.co/8a6XhgeOGk
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) February 5, 2025
According to Goyal, these 30 individuals include “founders who bootstrapped startups from their dorm rooms, engineers who rewrote entire tech stacks over a weekend, operators who turned chaos into scale and a handful of brilliant young minds fresh out of college—people we believe will lead us into the future.”
He further highlighted that their “long-term mindset” set them apart from the other individuals. “They weren’t optimising for short-term outcomes but for compounding impact—the most misunderstood mathematical miracle. Finding people who truly get this is rare, and I’m grateful we did,” Goyal added.
The Zomato CEO revealed four of the 18 individuals who have joined so far are working directly with him, with two of them serving as Chief 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,” he stated.
- Location :
Delhi, India, India