Pros

You get to make your own schedule. What you get out of it is what you put into it. Decent training on specific products.

Cons

Lots of cold calling. No help in generating sales leads. Expected to call friends and family to sell them insurance.

Advice to Senior Management

Help interns generate leads. Not everybodys friends or family members are willing to buy insurance from a college kid. Maybe focus more on teaching the industry than just expecting a college kid to become an insurance salesman without full knowledge of the industry.

Pros

Make your own work schedule, unlimited potential pay, plenty of room for growth... what you put in is what you take out of it

Cons

Commission based, potential long hours if you want to be successful, lots of driving, can be discouraging at times with clients turning you down, must meet your own clients

Advice to Senior Management

I wish it could be more structured, like being giving certain works to complete, but then again it is a sales commission based job and giving certain work to be completed is not the work environment of Northwestern

Pros

Potential for growth
Excellent Management
Quality People
Unlimtited income potential
Autonomy

Cons

100% Commission (4,000 dollar stipend in the beginning for marketing expenses)
Prepare to sell to your friends and family
Underwriting is tedious.

Advice to Senior Management

Job well done.

Pros

Provide a lot of training and support to develop and succeed as a financial adviser. They pay for all licenses and certifications and give you the opportunity to be mentored by older successful reps.

Cons

This is a pure sales position and you must be prepared to make it for yourself without any base and leads fed to you.

Advice to Senior Management

Leads would help a young rep succeed. The monday meetings where you compare your numbers to your peers helps with accountability.

Pros

The particular office where I interned was very professional. The managing director would take time out when possible to help any intern that asked for help. The staff was also more than willing to explain the business when time was available.

Cons

Communication was lacking. Feedback was not always immediate. Feedback and stipends were very slow to process.

Advice to Senior Management

The office I worked at was very nice. However, you will need the meet your goals and NWM is a place where you will be expected to do more than "just enough."

Pros

You run your own business and make as much money as you want depending on how many people you meet with. You can work around your schedule.

Cons

If you are new in town or don't have a lot of contacts you will have to work extra hard. They expect you to solicit to friends and family and you start to see everyone you meet as a potential client and not a friend.

Advice to Senior Management

Management at Northwestern Mutual is very good and that is the reason that the company has been around so long and is so well known. Keep up the good work.

Pros

Flexibility, lots of learning opportunity

Cons

100% commission job. Your main job is getting clients, not learning about personal finance. It doesn't matter how much you know, it matters how many clients can you acquire or sign up....capture assets!

Advice to Senior Management

should have a base salary

Pros

Family like atmosphere; everyone wants to help you and wants you to succeed
made your own work schedule
great and respectable company

Cons

100% commission
Go through a 3 week long training session on how to sell their product but then you are basically on your own

Advice to Senior Management

Give more time for new representatives to learn what they are going to be selling rather than learning as they sell

Pros

Good training, opportunities for recent graduates

Cons

Completely commissions based, essentially starting your own business

Advice to Senior Management

come up with some ways that employees can find new contacts aside from their family and friends

Pros

North western mutual is a well known comapny, since you can offer other companies financial products it makes it easier to sell

Cons

Building your own business meaning that you have to start from scratch, they encourage you to sell to your own family

Advice to Senior Management

Well driven company but since it 100% commission based it makes it difficult for employees to stay working for the comapny