I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Northwestern Mutual (Farmingdale, NY)
Interview
I was recruited on Linkedin and asked to come in to interview with the recruiter. I was then told I still had two more interviews left before I would get an offer. They told me initially that there would be no requirement to sell insurance to family and friends, but in the second interview told me I'd be expected to meet with family and friends and even made me write a list of the people I'd be able to meet with in my first week. This struck me as a shady way of getting young college graduates to beg their family to buy insurance. The compensation was almost entirely commission. There are better ways to make money.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why would you like to work at Northwestern Mutual?
Very professional and provide a deep background and understanding of the company. The recruiters are very friendly and help guide you through the interview process. Is a multi-step interview process including surveys and questionaries.
I applied online. I interviewed at Northwestern Mutual (San Diego, CA) in Jun 2026
Interview
The interview process is smooth, they get back to you relatively quickly. I completed the first 3 rounds within a week but they did reschedule my 4th interview after confirming. Nothing bad to say yet honestly.
I went through three rounds. You have an initial screening, a one hour interview with an advisor, then meet with a partner in-person if possible. Very detailed, and they bring up cultural test results and financial projections.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Who is someone in your current network that could benefit from this?
Financial Advisor applicants have rated the interview process at Northwestern Mutual with 2.4 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 55% positive. To compare, the company-average is 56.8% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Financial Advisor roles take an average of 17 days to get hired, when considering 729 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Northwestern Mutual overall takes an average of 20 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Northwestern Mutual as a Financial Advisor according to 729 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 24%
Phone interview: 19%
Personality test: 11%
Background check: 9%
IQ intelligence test: 9%
Skills test: 7%
Presentation: 7%
Drug test: 6%
Group panel interview: 5%
Other: 3%
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