<p>The internet has truly brought to light so many peoples lack of knowledge, since they can sit like little trolls behind their computer and post whatever fictional statements they want. Northwestern Mutual has been ranked as one of America’s most loved companies for 14 years straight, top ten internships for 10 years straight and has AAA ratings from Standard and Poor. Clearly this isn’t a scam or anything like vector. You would know this if you ever stepped foot into the office. My father does business with them and the 10 upper level Financial Representatives at the office all make well over a Million dollars a year. Yes, in the beginning you will be asking friends and family if they want insurance or have any leads but when you’re a broker of ANYTHING that is the exact same case. Except unlike a stock broker or boat broker, life insurance is something that can truly make a difference in a persons life. I have heard many success stories of Financial Representatives whose clients passed away and it was because of their financial planning that the widow was able to keep the house. So before you clueless morons run your mouth about a well respected company you should do a little research first. Also, not anyone can do it. The interview process is pretty rigorous and for my local branch there are only 10 open positions.</p>
It really makes me sad to read some of these comments. I know that it has been awhile since the start of this conversation, but I think it is important that these kinds of conversations continue because those who are looking to possibly do the internship still see these comments, and most likely allow them to sway their decision. Let me start by being upfront that I am a current Northwestern Mutual Advisor. If this fact is going to make you not believe anything I am about to say, then please feel free move on to the next comment. I am posting this comment to merely share my own personal experience thus far with Northwestern. I will start by saying that the internship was the BEST experience of my entire life. I learned more real life skills doing the internship then I ever learned in school or in my past internships that I was a part of. There are many false comments on here stating that Northwestern “hard sells” and you are “forced to shove insurance products down your friends’ and families’ throats”. Maybe the people who are posting these comments have had bad experiences with Northwestern Advisors, but more likely they are past interns who either 1) did not ever commit to the internship and give it a chance or 2.) did try the internship and found that it was not for them because they are not cut out for sales (there is nothing wrong with that). It would appear to me that in today’s day and age the word “sales” has a very negative connotation. But please take a minute to stop and think about our world and our society. Everybody is selling something, whether it be a tangible product, a service, or your knowledge and expertise. So why in the world does someone who sells insurance, investments, or any other financial product or service become the bad guy in society’s eyes? All of these things ARE needed and can make a HUGE impact of peoples’ lives. I have seen first hand how the planning I do for my clients can change their lives in a positive way.
Now with all of that being said, I would like to address the comments that state that as an intern you are forced to sell insurance to all your family and friends and pump them for other potential clients. 2 things: 1) Stop making insurance sound like a bad thing. Any DECENT financial advisor (Northwestern or not) would make sure that all of their clients’ basic needs were take care of first. Insurance is the foundation to any financial plan, whether is be a personal or business plan. and 2) Those who felt like they were being “forced” to sell insurance to their family and friends either didn’t understand true financial advising and the value of insurance or do not care about their family and friends.
Lastly, I would like to point out that the advisors at Northwestern go well above and beyond insurance planning. Insurance is where we start with all of our clients since it is the foundation to any financial plan, but over time we create individualized plans for all of our clients. These plans can address a number of things such as, education funding, retirement savings, retirement distribution planning, debt reduction, asset allocation, Monte Carlo and Probability Analysis, ect… If you are successful in the internship, you have a high probability of being a successful advisor that can have a huge impact on your clients’ lives. And if one of your clients that you have an impact on is a family member or friend, what is so bad about that?