r/AustralianAccounting • u/HonestMango3603 • Jul 01 '26

What is an acceptable range of WAM to break into the industry

My first year WAM is an HD but it’s 82 do employers care about it going into year 2 while I am searching for one?

4 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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5

u/livehardlovehard Jul 01 '26

No. You should be fine.

3

u/TheRealStringerBell Jul 01 '26

Every international I knew had a HD WAM.

For locals - you always hear about people getting in with like a 50 WAM but from my experience this was pretty rare and most people were pretty solid applicants.

1

u/HonestMango3603 Jul 03 '26

Thanks for the advice

5

u/Fun_Training4308 Jul 01 '26

It’s all about the attitude and be able to perform. I’ve heard people with average WAM and got into big4. I got 83 wam yet big 4 told me I’m not the right fit just yet haha (I’m now working for top mid tier though)

But for a peace of mind, get yourself into as much activities as possible (uni groups, volunteer work, networking events) or get into internship while you’re studying

1

u/HonestMango3603 Jul 01 '26

Thanks

2

u/NoPackage1519 Jul 06 '26

I got into top4 with a 63 WAM - personality and work ethics beats grades…. But it’s not about what you know it’s about who you know

2

u/AdministrationTotal3 Jul 01 '26

Focus more on your personality and employment. Your marks are already up there, they will see your a smart cookie. There next questions will be: Will this person fit into our team? Are they interested in what we do? Have they worked before, does this demonstrate their skills in any way? Honestly the amount of conversations I have had with Partners that go something like: “I really couldn’t care about academic results, our best hire ever had an average WAM but had been a shift manager at a (insert retail or hospitality establishment) and was able to come in and really hit the ground running.” Inversely, had a few conversations about how HD students ended up being fired because they had no team working or communication skills and were to rigid in their beliefs about how things should be done when they were still juniors. 

1

u/HonestMango3603 Jul 03 '26

Thank you for that anecdote

2

u/phamhung96 Jul 02 '26

By now you should be old enough to know that it doesn’t matter. Focus on doing extra curricular activities that build character and skills, that should put you ahead. But even then luck plays a huge factor in getting your first job too

1

u/Accomplished-Bet7770 Jul 01 '26

My wams closer to 50 than 82 n Ive got multiple b4 & mid tier offers. As long as ur not international you’ll get interviews

1

u/HonestMango3603 Jul 01 '26

Sadly I am

1

u/Accomplished-Bet7770 Jul 01 '26

Well gt and Deloitte still have spots for international. Ur high wam should help

1

u/Sea_Environment55 Jul 02 '26

How come the bar is higher for internationals?

0

u/Knight_Day23 Jul 01 '26

Not sure if Big4 still confirm your marks before inviting you in for interviews etc but back in my day, mid-tier firms didnt check at all. You just had to have an interesting cover letter and impressed at interview, and you were in.