Northwestern Mutual offering "real world" financial expert career experience to 3,000 college students in 2012

MILWAUKEE, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- To keep pace with consumer demand for financial security guidance, Northwestern Mutual is embarking on its largest-ever recruiting effort in 2012, aiming to add more than 3,000 financial representative interns and 2,000 financial representatives this year. Compared to the same time last year, Northwestern Mutual's internship recruitment is up 16 percent in 2012.

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Northwestern Mutual's nationally-acclaimed internship program – now in its 45th year – has been a vital source of the company's future talent and leadership.  Northwestern Mutual expects that one-third of its financial representative interns will pursue full-time careers with the company after graduation.  Almost 50 percent of the company's field leadership – managing partners and managing directors – are former interns. 

With access to a network of specialists, Northwestern Mutual financial representative interns help clients identify and address financial needs using a wide range of insurance and investment products and solutions, just as full-time financial representatives do.

"Our internship is known as one of America's best because our interns are able to test-drive the financial representative career," said Steven C. Mannebach, vice president, field growth and development, Northwestern Mutual.  "College students are looking for more than an internship – they want to build leadership skills and real-world experience."

Recruiting, Training and Retaining More Interns

In an ever-escalating competition for top talent, leading companies like Northwestern Mutual are stepping up efforts to recruit, train and – most importantly – retain exceptional interns more than ever before. 

Northwestern Mutual hopes to convert 20 percent more financial representative interns to full-time careers in 2012.  According to the latest research, companies nationwide are expecting to convert 8.5 percent more interns into full-time positions this year[i], highlighting a new national career-seeking and talent acquisition trend.  

"If you're a company that's grooming interns to make coffee instead of grow a career, you're missing out on an opportunity for staffing strength over the long-term," said Mannebach. "Well-run internship programs give top companies looking for top talent a huge advantage.  For 45 years, we've attracted tens of thousands of interns to Northwestern Mutual and invested in them, giving them the training and development they need to be successful leaders should they choose to be with us in the long-term."

The company has a similar intern-to-full-time conversion approach at its corporate headquarters in Milwaukee., Wis.  Its new employee orientation in June will include approximately 50 new interns.  The company hopes that many will secure full-time positions with the company when their internships end.

Company Honored With Numerous Awards

For 15 consecutive years, Northwestern Mutual's financial representative internship program has been featured in Vault®'s Top 10 Internships in America. (1997-2011, Vault Guide to Top Internship: Top 10 internships 1997-2000, 2011.  Top 10 Financial Internships 2010-2011)

According to J.D. Power and Associates' 2012 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study, Northwestern Mutual's financial representatives are some of the most satisfied in the industry.

The company was named one of the World's Most Admired life insurance companies by FORTUNE® magazine in March 2, 2012 edition. It was also ranked number one in customer satisfaction for the third consecutive year, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) in December 2011.

Students and recent graduates seeking more information about a financial representative internship can contact their local Northwestern Mutual office at: http://www.northwesternmutual.com/find-an-office.aspx.

About Northwestern Mutual
The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company – Milwaukee, WI (Northwestern Mutual) – among the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2012 according to FORTUNE® magazine – has helped clients achieve financial security for more than 155 years. As a mutual company with $1.2 trillion of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual has no shareholders. The company focuses solely and directly on its clients and seeks to deliver consistent and dependable value to them over time.  Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer a holistic approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability insurance, annuities, investment products, and advisory products and services. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, limited purpose federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company; and Russell Investments.

[i] "2012 Internship & Co-op Survey." NACE Research. April 2012. www.naceweb.org.

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual