I really loved the work that I was doing and my coworkers were amazing. They gave me an opportunity to choose one from a selection of projects to work on. The interns came from all over the country and we all stayed in the same living quarters. Outside of work many of us got together to play beach volleyball, soccer , try new restaurants and experience all the things that Milwaukee had to offer. Overall it was an awesome experience
What I wish was different
Advice
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Financial Representative
June 2018 • Dallas, TX
What I liked
Challenging, flexible schedule, leadership opportunities, networking, built new relationships, personal development
What I wish was different
compensation
Advice
Be ready to push yourself out of your comfort zone. If you give it your best you will at the very least grow a lot as a person and likely make some good money while you're at it if you get good at the job.
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Financial Advisor Intern
May - August 2018 • Dallas, TX
What I liked
I learned how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Developed really great phoning skills and learned a ton about the life/disability/long term care insurance industry.
What I wish was different
Less focus on sales, more on financial planning.
Advice
Must be willing to buy into the internship and work hard! Just trying to get through the day will not provide you with any valuable experience.
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Financial Advisor Intern
May - August 2018 • Denver, CO
What I liked
Northwestern Mutual is a wonderful and very exciting company to work for. The company culture is great and all of the people involved in the internship work their very hardest to ensure you feel supported and have the best opportunity to succeed. The internship itself is challenging but rewarding, and you learn an immense amount both about yourself and about the professional world. Additionally, there is a lot of room for growth and success if you work hard and challenge yourself. There are also a ton of opportunities open to Northwestern Mutual Interns, including travel.
What I wish was different
The one weakness of the Northwestern Mutual Internship is the lack of pay. You receive a $100 weekly stipend for the entire internship, but otherwise your only source of income is via commissions from sales. While this is a great inspiration and definitely pushes you to work harder, it can be very difficult to make money during the first month. If you decide to do this internship, I would highly recommend having at least 3 months of emergency income saved up, or some other reliable source of income so that money is not a major stress during your experience.
Advice
Before you commit to the NM internship, be 100% ready to commit to the experience for the whole 3 months. Be aware that it will be very difficult at times, and that you will want to quit, and be prepared to work through those feelings and push forward. Also, you should be working 40 hours a week for a majority of the summer and are only allowed a week off for vacation, so be aware of that as well. The NM internship is not easy, but it is one of the top 10 internships in the country for a reason, so you'll have a great team behind you. As long as you commit to work hard and remain open to the experience, you'll have a great internship.
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Financial Advisor Intern
May - July 2018 • Schaumburg, IL
What I liked
I enjoyed how much I learned about all the different types of insurances and retirement accounts
What I wish was different
I wish it would have been more of the financial side of the company. In terms of like investments they’re getting into and what not.
Advice
Do not let them sell you on this job by saying its more than what it is. They made it seem like I would be working with both the sales side and the the financial side to get me into the internship because I told them I was going to apply for the actual financial internship and not the “financial advisor” internship which turned out to just be sales.
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Operations Assistant
June - August 2018 • Tampa, FL
What I liked
I liked being able to learn about what it’s like to work a full time job in a real office.
What I wish was different
Advice
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College Financial Representative
June - September 2018 • Woodland Hills, CA
What I liked
Learning about sales and financial industry.
What I wish was different
I wish I could receive some training immediately after I got my offer.
Advice
Call everyone
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College Financial Representative
May - August 2018 • Sulphur Springs, TX
What I liked
I enjoyed the flexibility given on my weekly schedule, which worked well with taking summer classes. I also enjoyed the level of responsibility that was given to me.
What I wish was different
I felt that the pay scale was not competitive for the level of commitment and personal money invested.
Advice
If you are willing to work hard, be self-driven, and prepared to get out of your comfort zone than this is the internship for you! I developed more than I ever thought I would. If you are not prepared for this, than this is not the internship for you.
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Financial Representative
May - August 2018 • Austin, TX
What I liked
Experience
What I wish was different
The pay
Advice
Be ready to call people
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College Financial Representative
May - August 2018 • Clinton, NJ
What I liked
learning a lot about personal finance and how to manage your money
What I wish was different
I wish i didnt have to call on my friends and family to create business
Advice
If you are considering this internship, be prepared to work hard and potentially strain relationships with friends and family.
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College Financial Representative
May 2018 • Poughkeepsie, NY
What I liked
I had the freedom to run my own business and learn from very successful financial planners. I gained a type of experience that most people don't get from an internship. Learned more about the industry from this internship than any textbook has taught me.
What I wish was different
The ability to go after clients and get the confidence to reach out to new prospects. I wish there was more of weekly salary for the amount of work we put in.
Advice
Take advantage of the resources they give you and don't be afraid to get out of comfort zone because it is needed in order to achieve success.
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College Financial Representative
May - August 2018 • Davenport, IA
What I liked
I loved how they threw me in right away. They treated me just like a full-time representative for the most part. There was some sort of training every morning on different subjects that we could add to our skills or talk to clients about.
I also liked how Northwestern Mutual has you do joint-work pretty much all the time. However, they don't make you do it with just one person. You have the ability to do it with whoever you want. This gives you the opportunity to learn from many different successful professionals.
One last thing I liked was the accountability and competitiveness of the office. While everyone wants you to succeed, your numbers are shown in front of the office every week for everyone to see. This helps you compare yourself to your peers and lets everyone know if you have been doing your job.
What I wish was different
I wish the training was a bit more structured
I also wish they had spent a specific training time to learn how to make a retirement plan. I tried on my own for a long time, however, due to the complexity, it was nearly impossible to know if I was doing it correctly.
Advice
I would say go into it ready to learn. Everyone you work with desires to help you be better, not only in your job, but as a person. Also, take notes. Every time you learn something or hear something you like, write it down so you can refer back to it. This helped me remember quotes I liked, things I could adopt in my own business while I was there, and helped me pass on things I thought were inspirational to other people.
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Financial Representative
May 2018 • Rochester, NY
What I liked
The impact I made on people’s lives by securing their financial future.
What I wish was different
The pay cycle is based mostly on commission which gives you uncertain income, however it gives you the potential for unlimited income. Overall, I don’t really wish anything had been different, but if this job isn’t for you then you won’t get paid much, but the experience is great.
Advice
Get ready to step out of your comfort zone!
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Financial Advisor Intern
January - September 2018 • Greenwood, IN
What I liked
Very flexible. I was basically my own boss and ran my own business. Thus, I only answered to myself and did what I thought was best for my clientel. They trained me very well having a training session once weekly. Ranked top 5 internships in the world, because of the amount on hands on experience. I had the same responsibilities and role as a full time financial advisor
What I wish was different
That the pay was more. I basically got paid all on commission except for $100 a week capt off a $1000.
Advice
You need to get outside your comfort zone. You have to be willing to do anything to make sure your clientel base keeps on growing.
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College Financial Representative
June 2018 • Vernon Hills, IL
What I liked
While there is a lot of experienced advisors and co workers to help you out with your career, it's your responsibility to bring in the numbers and the potential of clients is limitless.
What I wish was different
More meetings, sometimes too much flexibility in your hours, so easier to slack off.
Advice
Always connect with people everywhere because anyone can become one of your clients.
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Personal Financial Planner Intern
May 2018 • Fort Worth, TX
What I liked
Hands on sales experience and industry knowledge
What I wish was different
Better pay
Advice
Be prepared to get out of your comfort zone and learn by experience.
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College Financial Representative
June 2018 • Honolulu, HI
What I liked
The internship wasn't getting coffee, doing errands, or anything you would think of doing as a college intern. Instead the firm dove us straight into the business, and helped us start our own book of business. They treated us like regular advisors, and had the same expectations as anyone else in the office. I felt the professionalism that was expected of myself, and also the desire from them to want me to grow as an individual.
What I wish was different
I wish there was more time to hear from more people in the business. Every week we would hear from a guest speaker at the home office in San Diego. We got to listen and interact from the most successful advisors in the business, and wished there was more time to learn more from them.
Advice
Everyday I worked there was no one really hovering over my shoulder or babying me. I had to create my own schedule, book my own appointments, find joint-work advisors, and everything in between. What I'm trying to say is that I had to create my own work from starting with nothing. Success isn't something that is created for you. You have to create your own path, and create your own "work" to get to what you would consider success. The saying of "you only get what you put into something" is 100% true. Take that in mind when transitioning from college work to what ever career you decide to get into.
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College Financial Representative
May 2018 • West Des Moines, IA
What I liked
I loved working with my directors and other interns to help my clients reach financial security. I enjoyed the process of going out of my comfort zone and dealing with rejection and talking to people in a professional manner. And following these the highs of making sales would strongly outweigh the lows of rejection. Additionally, the culture in the office helped me be the best I could everyday.
What I wish was different
I wish there would have been an hourly pay structure instead of a strong commission base. But at the same time that motivates you to work harder or you won't make any money.
Advice
This experience was something I was very timid about early on and didn't think this internship would be for me. I would advise those to try this internship and make yourself go out of your comfort zone. You'll be glad you did and you'll grow both professionally and personally.
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Financial Representative
June - August 2018 • Newport Beach, CA
What I liked
I loved it! I was licensed as a registered Financial Representative in the state of California and was able to build the financial integrity of several clients. The working atmosphere was great and I got to work with an extremely flexible schedule which allowed me to work in the office or from home.
What I wish was different
I wish that I was able to continue this internship further in order to get my Series 6 and 7 done.
Advice
One piece of advice I would give for this particular internship, is that you have to dive right into it. It's challenging to learn all the necessary information for this career path, and might be a bit scary at times. However, just remember there are plenty of resources available to you and to your success!
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Financial Representative
May 2017 • Mendota Heights, MN
What I liked
I loved the feeling of running my own business and working at the speed I wanted. I loved the help and presence that the full-time advisors gave me. I got to work with other interns, and build relationships with them as the internship progressed.
What I wish was different
More informational meetings about certain clients that we will come across on a daily basis.
Advice
The level of success you will have in this job is all in your hands. It will come down to how much time and effort you put into it.
