Northwestern Mutual reviews

Sometimes middle managers lack effective management skills. Promotions don't often make logical sense. It doesn't appear that the most qualified employees are offered the opportunities. Brown-nosers seem to do very well here. Other minor downside is lack of parking, although this is more of a municipal issue and not a company issue. It takes 10+ years to qualify for convenient downtown parking options, which is a very long time.

Northwestern Mutual, as with many financial services companies, contracts their distribution agents and so these people are essentially self employed. Those who work for them, as I do, are employed by someone who is self employed. There are no standards as to employee benefits, compensation packages, written performance expectations, equitable treatment expectations amongst employees who sit side by side yet work for vastly different employers in vastly different practices. So one can never be certain that you are being rewarded commensurate with effort, intellect or contribution when the person sitting next to you may be getting a higher salary because she is family to her employer - because she wears shorter skirts...for example. There are no career advancement opportunities for an Associate Financial Rep. at Northwestern Mutual so if you are not happy now, it is not likely that things will ever change enough to amke you happy. Because your Employer is self employed communication about what is going on within the practice is either nonexistent, or up to you to find out. I some employer / employee relationships there is respect and recognition as well as work / life balance but because of the contract / self employed nature of the distribution channels - there is a lot of opportunity for the employer to exploit the work ethic.