The Financial Services Sales Program is a paid, 12-week early-career experience where students have an opportunity to explore the path to becoming a Northwestern Mutual Financial Representative. Through comprehensive training, personalized coaching, mentorship, and real client-facing experience, you'll develop foundational sales, relationship-building, and communication skills while exploring whether an entrepreneurial advisor career is right for you.
In this hands-on program, you'll operate as an independent contractor, learning how financial advisors help clients navigate important financial decisions by understanding their goals, identifying their needs, and creating personalized financial plans. You can build a go-to-market strategy and business plan, learn how advisors conduct client conversations about financial goals and needs, and understand how they help guide individuals toward solutions tailored to their needs. Along the way, you'll see how advisors earn trust, develop lasting client relationships, and recommend insurance, investment, and wealth solutions that support a client's broader financial goals.
Unlike many traditional internships, this program is built around real responsibility and practical application. You'll learn through experiencing and doing, not just observing. Our goal is to provide a depth of experience that helps you build valuable professional skills, understand what it takes to grow a business, and make a meaningful impact in the lives of others. By the end of the program, you'll have a clearer understanding of the advisor career path and the opportunity to determine whether it's the right fit for your future
Schedule: Flexible, designed to work around classes and other commitments Compensation: Up to $3,000 in activity-based pay, plus commission on sales. There is no salary or hourly compensation.
What You'll Learn
Develop Career-Ready Skills Through Real Experience: Build communication, sales, relationship-building, and business development skills through hands-on training, coaching, mentorship, and real client interactions.
Learn How to Help Clients Plan for What Matters: Gain exposure to Northwestern Mutual's planning approach and learn how insurance, investments, retirement planning, and other solutions can help clients achieve financial security.
Explore an Entrepreneurial Career with Clarity: Get experience learning how business development, client relationships, accountability, and compensation contribute to long-term success.
What You'll Do
In the Financial Services Sales Program, you'll:
By completing the available training in this program, including holding the College Agent’s Contract, meeting licensing requirements, building your network, conducting discovery conversations, participating in client planning activities, applying coaching feedback, and engaging in business development, you will be better positioned for success in this program or whatever career you may choose.
How Compensation Works
Compensation is tied to completing sales- and business-focused program activities, including conducting financial discovery conversations and learning how advisors prepare personalized recommendations. Additional compensation takes the form of commissions from eligible sales. Here's how it works:
Who This Early-Career Program Is For
We're looking for students who are:
Eligible participants may be considered for a full-time financial representative role following graduation. Participants may also be considered for another role within their local network office
About Northwestern Mutual
For over 165 years, we have helped our clients spend their lives living through comprehensive and innovative financial planning. We combine the expertise of our financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to give our clients the ability to successfully navigate their financial lives.
Our tailored, integrated approach includes multiple financial strategies—insurance, investments, and annuities—built to reinforce each other, keeping our clients consistently on track to meet goal after goal. We lead with unmatched financial strength and access to the best products and services for our clients.
We value an inclusive workplace where everyone’s unique viewpoints bring new successes. We strive to create teams that reflect our customers and communities, fostering an environment where all employees are welcomed, valued, and heard.
Why Join Northwestern Mutual:
Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM) and its subsidiaries, including Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC), Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (Investment Brokerage Services), a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, and member of FINRA and SIPC, and Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company® (NMWMC) (Investment Advisory Services), a federal savings bank. NM and its subsidiaries are in Milwaukee, WI.
Northwestern Mutual Financial Representatives are independent contractors whose income is based solely on production. Participants in the Program are independent contractors, not employees of Northwestern Mutual or the local network office.
Participants in the Program will begin as financial representatives. Financial Representatives are prohibited from using the title “Advisor” until licensures are obtained (including SIE 6 and 63) and Northwestern Mutual specified courses are satisfactorily completed.
Northwestern Mutual Financial Advisors and College Financial Representatives are Independent Contractors whose income is based on production. If offered to apply for approval of a contract to become a Northwestern Mutual College Financial Representative, a national criminal background check is required. Should the background check results provide information which would not allow someone to work for Northwestern Mutual, approval for contract will be denied.
1Ranking for Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) based on total 2024 AUM, which includes figures that combine NMIS brokerage account activity and AUM with account activity and AUM of investment advisory account of NMIS’s affiliate Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC), which are held through NMIS. Source: Financial Planning, August 2025.
2Among U.S. life insurers. Ratings are for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company, as of the most recent review and report by each rating agency. Ratings as of: 06/25 (Moody’s Ratings), 11/25 (A.M. Best Company), 08/25 (Fitch Ratings), 10/25 (S&P Global Ratings). Ratings are subject to change. Total company assets as of December 31, 2025. 4Northwestern Mutual is the proud recipient of the 2026 MVP Award from Training magazine for its plethora of high-quality field learning and development programs.
3Northwestern Mutual is the proud recipient of the 2026 MVP Award from Training magazine for its plethora of high-quality field learning and development programs.
Job details are sourced from the employer's original posting.
Open job postingAbout the company
You and Northwestern Mutual. We believe relationships are built on trust. That our lives and our work matter. And we’re much stronger together than we are apart. These beliefs launched our company nearly 160 years ago. Today, they’re just a few of the reasons why people choose to build careers at Northwestern Mutual. Our business is about helping people secure their financial futures, and that starts with putting people first – our clients, our employees and our field representatives. Northwestern Mutual is known for financial strength. We’re strong, innovative and growing. Come grow with us.