I applied in-person. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Northwestern Mutual (Cold Spring, CO) in Mar 2020
Interview
Very formal: First they start with a phone interview. I’m pretty sure they had a copy of my resume and were just asking basic resume questions. After they invite you into their local office to speak with a recruiter. She talks about Northwestern, the internship and then the compensation. To pass the internship you are required to sell “10 lives.” Northwestern refers to a policy as a life. Essentially all you sell are 10 life insurance policies. This is all with fixed compensation and the only work you do is bring your contacts to Northwestern. For as much work as you put in this is one of the least paying internships out there. They guarantee $100 a week for showing up to a meeting, however the rest is on how well the “clients” you bring to them buy the policies. This is an easy industry to get started in I would probably not spend a summer doing this.
Three rounds
First- HR screening, company and role overview
Second- Interview with director and more in depth explanation of role
Third- Discussion of potential candidates to use in business
People are easygoing and have a salesperson vibe
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Are you okay with a commission based compensation structure?
I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Northwestern Mutual (Chicago, IL) in Jul 2025
Interview
easy interview process if you already have your insurance license and prefer to sell life insurance over commodities it might be the place for you. they will also help you get licensed if you do not have your license.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Northwestern Mutual (San Diego, CA) in Jun 2025
Interview
A bit longer than other industries, will take about a month from start to receiving an offer. Communication and scheduling is very easy though. More of an assessment of your personal strengths and learning style rather than your financial experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They will ask you about your work style/experiences. Also will ask you about what it is about the industry that drew you in.
Financial Advisor Trainee applicants have rated the interview process at Northwestern Mutual with 2.4 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 49% positive. To compare, the company-average is 56.8% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Financial Advisor Trainee roles take an average of 21 days to get hired, when considering 39 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Northwestern Mutual overall takes an average of 20 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Northwestern Mutual as a Financial Advisor Trainee according to 39 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 29%
Phone interview: 16%
Personality test: 11%
IQ intelligence test: 10%
Background check: 8%
Skills test: 6%
Drug test: 6%
Presentation: 6%
Group panel interview: 5%
Other: 3%
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