Austin T. Menzia

What do you do as a Regional Inventory Planning Analyst?  

 I manage the inventory strategies and help enable sales for our military customers both domestic and international. I am also responsible for helping to manage the inventory that supports our merchandising efforts, as well as working through the improvement and automation of various processes

Why did you choose to major in Psychology and how has that affected your career thus far?

I picked Psychology because I was fascinated with the social sciences. My two other majors (Sociology and Political Science) covered a lot of similar themes, and Psychology offered classes that deviated from those themes. In particular, my Intro Psych and Org Psych classes covered topics that I could see myself learning about for four years, which wasn’t the case for other intro classes that I tried out. In terms of affecting my career, I probably have the most unusual educational background on my 40 person team, and that diverse education has really aided me a lot. I’m often told that I tell a story with the analytics I do, and I am able to positively influence and teach others. I think psychology was integral in that.

What was your career path like?

I came into Michigan thinking that I would study business, but as I took my intro Psych, Soc, and Political Science classes, I realized that I was really enjoying the stuff that I was learning and that I could really see myself applying my learnings in these three majors to something more impactful, like law. My sophomore year was spent gearing myself towards law school, I joined a pre-law frat (which I stayed extremely involved in throughout my undergrad years) and went to South Africa to learn more about their Constitutional Court and Social Justice. However, the Summer between my Sophomore and Junior year, I took an internship at a start-up, and had the opportunity to work on some very interesting business related projects. My summer between Junior and Senior years, I decided to take another business internship, at a power tool supplier called Milwaukee Tool, to help me decide if I still wanted to do law, or if I was going to join the business world out of college. During the LSA Career Fair Senior year, one of the companies I interviewed with was Grainger, who is a distributor of Milwaukee Tool products. They eventually offered me a role that combined both business and law, so I signed on at Grainger to join the “Supplier Lifecycle” team, a team that works with Product Management to help manage various contracts. I ended up signing my offer letter in October of 2015, and I started the role in July of 2016, in that time, I was assigned to a new team that dealt with process improvement and operations. I was hesitant about this because it had nothing to do with the law, but I decided to stick it out, and learned a ton of valuable skills that I will be able to use moving forward. Since then, I have changed roles and have gone into a supply chain intensive role involving inventory strategy, I see myself at Grainger for a long time, and understanding a variety of different areas of the company is key. Moving forward, my career goals involve becoming a people-leader and getting involved in projects that allow me to work internationally and have a larger impact on my company.

What advice do you have for students getting a degree in the UM Psychology Department who are considering your profession?

I think the most important advice would be to continue to push the department to include more organizational psychology classes. The field is so interesting, yet the courses available are extremely limited. It is the most applicable to the business world. Another piece of advice that I have is to pick classes that allow you to communicate in a lot of different ways. Group discussions and office hours might be uncomfortable or feel like a waste of time, but in the workforce, both of those interactions happen almost daily (in the form of team meetings or manager one-on-one’s). One skill that separates people in the corporate world is their ability to communicate effectively, give valuable feedback to others, and also to receive feedback appropriately (and act on it), I see college as a test ground to try out different things to see what works best for you. Fields like Social Psychology are definitely applicable to that, so I urge students to take those classes as well, but in the end, if you can take advantage of the classes that require group interactions, those experiences will prepare you the best.

I don’t use anything that I learned from psychology directly in my work, however my Psychology undergraduate education is still extremely valuable in my day to day work. What I tell those who I mentor is to study something that teaches you how to learn and work in the best way possible. For my job, no Michigan student will know how to properly manage inventory levels or negotiate vendor contracts until they are actually in their role, and most jobs (at least in the corporate world) are like that. Students should pick majors that interest them, they should wake up every morning excited to go to class, and then they should put themselves in a position to challenge themselves. I don’t think about or apply the Stanford Prison Study or Freud at work, but subconsciously (see what I did there?) I know that what I learned in all of my classes is being utilized in interactions with different people. But more importantly, my liberal arts education taught me to communicate better, work harder, and learn faster. The diverse education I received from the Psychology department supported the growth of those intangible skills.

How has the University of Michigan alumni network helped you thus far in your career? 

The alumni network has been huge, most of the offers I received Senior year were from Michigan alumni. At Grainger, Michigan alumni reached out to me within the first week to make sure that I was comfortable and had a network to rely on if I needed anything. I have now been given the opportunity to help lead Michigan Recruiting at Grainger, which has allowed me to utilize the alumni network in a different way, through finding and mentoring current students who might be interested in a career at a company like Grainger.

If possible, would you change anything about your career path?

At this point, no. If you told me in the Fall of 2012 that I would be supporting the logistics behind a international supply chain, I wouldn’t have believed it. But I don’t know too many 24 year olds who have had the experiences that I have had, so I really can’t complain. Grainger is extremely supportive of my personal and professional growth, and I have gained a ton of valuable mentors and friends, so I think I made the right choice.

What is the best career advice that you have received?

1. Mentors matter. Already, in my first two years in the business world, I have already realized that sometimes the difference between keeping your job/getting promoted and losing your job is what decision makers are willing to stand up for you and your work. When choosing a mentor, look for quality rather than quantity. Building a vast network is important, but try to find someone who is connected and shares similar goals as you, and use them as a primary source for career advice and motivation. 

2. Don’t quit on things too early. I hated my job for the first three months. I didn’t have any friends and I didn’t like my coworkers. But a few months will not be enough time to get yourself adjusted to this new post-college lifestyle, so give it some time and take it as a learning experience. I had a similar experience in my first semester in Ann Arbor, and now I couldn’t imagine going to school anywhere else.

3. Make sure to enjoy your post-college life. There will be so many cool opportunities to take advantage of, and you should. It’s ok to leave work early every once in a while or to spend a paycheck on a vacation. However, there will still be times where you need to push yourself into high gear and work. If you are given an opportunity at work that will set yourself apart, you need to take that opportunity and dedicate everything you have to it. There have been weeks were I have put in 60+ hours, I would never do a job that requires that regularly, but if you are given a project that requires it, and you believe that it can help your professional growth, my advice to those who I mentor is to do what it takes knock it out of the ballpark.