I applied through college or university. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Northwestern Mutual (Tallahassee, FL) in May 2011
Interview
Contacted by phone, interviewer uses the 'Northwestern Language' that you will soon learn if you accept the position. Brought in for a 1:1 interview to see if you are the type of person they are looking for. They ask lots of questions. If they feel like you are who they are looking for they will soon begin to sell their company very hard. They will talk about how prestigious their internship program is and how much money you could be making if you were to become a full-time employee. They will then give you homework. They will make you go out and find about 30 contacts and want about 1-2 referrals of other contacts from each of those 30. They want to see if you can prospect and get referrals which is an important part of the job. They also have you create a powerpoint presentation to present for the interviewer.
Straightforward process, interviewed with them on campus. They provided the information I needed. I decided to not move ahead with the interview process as it did not align with my goals, but the interviewers were cordial and professional.
Felt like they were selling me something the whole time. Super easy to talk to, but something just felt off the whole time. Had multiple phases of them explaining why they're so perfect and great to work for (massive selection bias in some of their numbers)
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Would you take this questionnaire to 5 family and friends and get back to us by your next interview