Her Story
About Raima
Raima Debnath is an HR generalist with a background in industrial organizational psychology. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Singapore and her master's degree in industrial organizational psychology in Chicago. Her professional experience includes HR work in real estate, an edtech company, and the Service Employees International Union, a nonprofit focused on wages and labor issues. She is also involved with the Mental Health Film Festival Singapore. In her current role, which she has held for eight months, Debnath handles recruitment coordination with department managers, manages HR information systems for onboarding and taxes, supports trainings including bystander, ID, and DEI programs, develops standard operating procedures, and conducts job analysis for role descriptions. She recently led an organization-wide I-9 audit from end to end. Debnath is a member of the Society of Industrial Organizational Psychology.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Raima
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my dad and my family. I am where I am because of how much he has worked his way through. It costs a lot of money if you're coming from India to be in an international country, so his hard work, his patience, my family's dedication, and giving me time and letting me stay away from home for so long. I owe it all to my parents.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
As an international student in America, it's really difficult to even score an internship. A senior alumni told me that you need to network your way through it. Because with ATS and a lot of automation nowadays, nobody's really going through your resume. You need to have a good network to get hired. Be genuine with your answers during the interview. Just don't fake it. If you don't know stuff, you don't know stuff. It's gonna make you even more nervous when you go for interviews, so just be a natural, authentic self.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say be fiercely confident. Because you, like, in this industry, as a woman, you have to be confident, and even if you don't have that much experience, it's something is better than nothing, so I think confidence is a big key. I don't think you should get demotivated if you're not getting somewhere. If one door closes, there are many other doors open. Things happen for a reason, just trust the timing, and you will be where you have to be.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
As an international student here, it's really difficult with the visa status and everything to even land a full-time job. Another challenge is that you learn things in university but it's really different when you're actually doing the job. In the future, I could be a talent acquisition director or become a consultant in organizational development and change management. I.O. and HR are pretty much going hand-in-hand so there are paths to pivot towards.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
It's really important to have attention to detail, and it's also really important to be empathetic to other people. You never know who is going through what, and taking out your frustration on somebody else is not okay. You need to keep the other person's feelings and how their day is going in your mind. Speak to everyone with kindness, and spread kindness. You'll get it back tenfold.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.