What WAM should I aim for?

[Yeezus]

why do you have to be so arrogant.

am I allowed to use your generalization against you and go "hey you're not in a respective profession therefore what you just said is unsubstantiated"

and dont go off and say that you're in a "respective profession" since Fyrefly's experience + fact that she's actually working right now doesn't count to you either

I already mentioned that grades aren't everything at the very start and next thing you say is to not listen to anyone since our advice is "unsubstantiated"

I'll re-phrase my statement:

"Most of the information on AN pertaining to employment is not very good, because most people on the forum have very little and in most cases no experience in the industry they are commenting on. "

[brenden]

Works for me.

[Yeezus]

In summation, to cut through the bollocks and answer the OP:

A lot of people want to get the question you asked answered. I myself obviously am unsure, but I can just relay information that I have heard from employers/graduates/lecturers.

-You don't need to have great WAM, you're better off getting a few high scores in subjects relevant to what you're interested in. This shows that you are intelligent and are able to function at a high level. So 60,65,65,95 beats 75,78,77,76 assuming the 95 was in a relevant subject. No point failing Accounting and killing 'intro French' and then applying to and accounting firm.

-Join clubs/have life experience that shows you are able to work in a team. This doesn't have to be a uni-club. It's pretty difficult for managers to keep 100 people working for them happy, so showing that you are someone who is able to work in teams is a massively good thing.

-Interview is extremely important. Everything on paper is just to get you to the interview, after that whether you get the job or not is 99% on interview performance.

-Genuine passion for the position.

-Intellect, there will always be a shortage of intelligent people, if you can demonstrate that you're intelligent (this is not demonstrated by high grades), you are on the cusp of any firm. Assuming someone has no negative qualities that would detract from them joining a firm, they will be able to join literally any firm, there will always be a shortage of intelligent people working at any company.

[Planck's constant]

That's really helpful info for the 99.9999% of us who do not have a 99 average.

He is also a Scotch OB

[Planck's constant]

In summation, to cut through the bollocks and answer the OP:

A lot of people want to get the question you asked answered. I myself obviously am unsure, but I can just relay information that I have heard from employers/graduates/lecturers.

-You don't need to have great WAM, you're better off getting a few high scores in subjects relevant to what you're interested in. This shows that you are intelligent and are able to function at a high level. So 60,65,65,95 beats 75,78,77,76 assuming the 95 was in a relevant subject. No point failing Accounting and killing 'intro French' and then applying to and accounting firm.

-Join clubs/have life experience that shows you are able to work in a team. This doesn't have to be a uni-club. It's pretty difficult for managers to keep 100 people working for them happy, so showing that you are someone who is able to work in teams is a massively good thing.

-Interview is extremely important. Everything on paper is just to get you to the interview, after that whether you get the job or not is 99% on interview performance.

-Genuine passion for the position.

-Intellect, there will always be a shortage of intelligent people, if you can demonstrate that you're intelligent (this is not demonstrated by high grades), you are on the cusp of any firm. Assuming someone has no negative qualities that would detract from them joining a firm, they will be able to join literally any firm, there will always be a shortage of intelligent people working at any company.

All of that, plus a high GPA

[Yeezus]

All of that, plus a high GPA

Find me one company that gives a shit about GPA. Just one. When I talk about unsubstantiated claims, this is the prime example. Qualify your statement.

Can honestly say, if I had my own company, the first and foremost consideration is that I want to make it profitable. In lieu, I don't give a flying fuck how good someone studied French, I don't care how they did in first year introductory biology and if I'm hiring them to do something in mechanical engineering, I also don't care how well they can do programming/software/electrical networks. Academically, all I want to know is that they can do what I need them to.

[Russ]

His comment is just as substantiated as everything you've posted in this thread buddy.

[Greatness]

Find me one company that gives a shit about GPA. Just one. When I talk about unsubstantiated claims, this is the prime example. Qualify your statement.

http://www.optioncity.com.au/vacation-program.html
'You’ll be in the penultimate year of your degree and due to complete by the end of 2014 with a minimum credit (60+) average. Your part-time work experience and your extra-curricular activities will greatly enhance your application.'

Most companies use WAM/GPA/academic transcript whatever you want to call it to cull the initial applicants, well grades with a combination of your EC activities etc. Then they have the aptitude tests, phone interviews, assessment centres, interviews. Grades normally only matter in the initial stages, but they will be heavily considered in places such as investment banks, management consulting, law for example where you will most likely be cut at the very first stage if you don't have a 75 ave or whatever their threshold is (of course they would make exceptions for students with exceptional circumstances)

[MJRomeo81]

Some highly amusing posts in this thread.

Here's your answer: There's no arbitrary number to aim for. Just because you're studying computer science, it doesn't mean you shouldn't put effort in your first year irrelevant elective. In addition, the WAM/GPA isn't everything. Employers care about a whole range of things.

These days it's highly competitive. It's true that a great WAM alone generally isn't enough to secure a good grad job. But at the same time, this isn't an excuse to start scoring 65 and feeling good about it. Aim to excel in all areas.

-You don't need to have great WAM, you're better off getting a few high scores in subjects relevant to what you're interested in. This shows that you are intelligent and are able to function at a high level.

Obviously it's ideal to score high in relevant subjects, but if I'm an employer, "french 101" is just as important. Why? Because I want to see how the candidate manages tasks that they aren't interested in. Throughout their respective career it is almost certain there will be projects that they couldn't give a damn about.

[Planck's constant]

Most companies use WAM/GPA/academic transcript whatever you want to call it to cull the initial applicants, well grades with a combination of your EC activities etc. Then they have the aptitude tests, phone interviews, assessment centres, interviews. Grades normally only matter in the initial stages, but they will be heavily considered in places such as investment banks, management consulting, law for example where you will most likely be cut at the very first stage if you don't have a 75 ave or whatever their threshold is (of course they would make exceptions for students with exceptional circumstances)

Yes.
This is what I have observed.
The exact same point I made in my first post to this thread.

If I had to put a number on it, I would say that 75 is the magic number. It is the number you need to maintain academic scholarships.

[ninwa]

Find me one company that gives a shit about GPA. Just one.

- all the top tier and middle tier law firms I spoke to at the careers fair who explicitly said "put your GPA on the first page of your resume when you apply for internships"

[Yeezus]

http://www.optioncity.com.au/vacation-program.html
'You’ll be in the penultimate year of your degree and due to complete by the end of 2014 with a minimum credit (60+) average. Your part-time work experience and your extra-curricular activities will greatly enhance your application.'

Most companies use WAM/GPA/academic transcript whatever you want to call it to cull the initial applicants, well grades with a combination of your EC activities etc. Then they have the aptitude tests, phone interviews, assessment centres, interviews. Grades normally only matter in the initial stages, but they will be heavily considered in places such as investment banks, management consulting, law for example where you will most likely be cut at the very first stage if you don't have a 75 ave or whatever their threshold is (of course they would make exceptions for students with exceptional circumstances)

@Greatness, they ask for 60+ not a high GPA.

@MJR, but why would someone pick French 101 if they aren't interested in it in the first place? And uni is far different from the workplace, you'll start to give a much bigger damn about a project when unsatisfactory completion means you have no way to put food on the table for your kids tomorrow rather than at university where there is no consequence.

@Ninwa, I'm not commenting on law firms, have no idea about that field.

[taiga]

Why does a simple question have to result in people arguing over the credibility of others. It's pretty widely known that a 75+ WAM, which as mentioned earlier is often the cut-off for honours, and maintaining scholarships, and also it's a grade which when combined with appropriate extra-curricular activities and personal qualities will often greatly assist in getting an interview. Obviously job application processes aren't as simple as just meeting a certain number, but a 75+ is what you should be aiming for academically.

Mind you, you can get interviews with much lower WAMs/poorer GPAs, but there comes a point where they might not even look at your application (often when it's sub 60 or sub 65, most places openly state this).

[Yeezus]

Why does a simple question have to result in people arguing over the credibility of others. It's pretty widely known that a 75+ WAM, which as mentioned earlier is often the cut-off for honours, and maintaining scholarships, and also it's a grade which when combined with appropriate extra-curricular activities and personal qualities will often greatly assist in getting an interview. Obviously job application processes aren't as simple as just meeting a certain number, but a 75+ is what you should be aiming for academically.

Mind you, you can get interviews with much lower WAMs/poorer GPAs, but there comes a point where they might not even look at your application (often when it's sub 60 or sub 65, most places openly state this).

Let's change the question:
"If I want to get a generic competitive job, what should I do?" Because this seems to be the real question.

[Greatness]

@Greatness, they ask for 60+ not a high GPA.

You said 'Find me one company that gives a shit about GPA. Just one.' I did.
If you ask anyone who is remotely interested in applying for prestigious organisations such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan etc (investment banks) it is widely known that pretty much only hire if you have an excellent transcript and a remarkable resume.

But if we're talking about Big 4 then it's a combination of everything and grades won't matter as much.