Financial Planning Sales Program, Internship

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

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.

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.

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.