As Job Openings Nationwide Continue to Rise, Northwestern Mutual is in Major Recruiting Mode

News Releases

MILWAUKEE (BUSINESS WIRE), May 18, 2011 - Northwestern Mutual, the “World’s Most Admired” life insurance company according to FORTUNE® magazine – is actively seeking to add more than 2,000 financial representatives and 2,500 interns to its field force in 2011. The company is taking steps to meet surging demand among Americans for financial security, and is recruiting heavily at a time when job openings across America are on the rise. According to numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 3.1 million job openings in March 2011, an increase from 3.0 million in February 2011¹. The job openings level has trended up since the end of the recession in June 2009.

Unlike other careers impacted by the current state of the economy, financial professionals are in high demand. Even as the overall economy recovers slowly, Northwestern Mutual offices are recruiting and training financial representatives and interns at a fast pace.

“We are at one of those unique points in American history when people recognize the distinct value of financial security, and are therefore seeking the kind of guidance and products that Northwestern Mutual has been delivering for more than a century and a half,” said Steven C. Mannebach, Northwestern Mutual vice president of agency development. “Parallel to that, we are a nation that is prioritizing job creation. Those two roads – the desire for financial security and the goal of putting America back to work – converge in our major recruiting effort, and represent a great opportunity for a rewarding career with us.”

Northwestern Mutual expects that more than half of its new financial representatives will be career changers -- professionals who believe that they have reached the ceiling in their current occupation and are looking for an opportunity to grow. In addition, as people may have been laid off from previous jobs, more individuals see the advantage of developing their own practice as a financial representative.

Advantages of Being a Financial Representative

Northwestern Mutual’s careers are recognized as some of the best in the nation. Among the company’s accolades:

Northwestern Mutual offers the top career in its industry, according to two surveys published by Glassdoor.com and Selling Power magazine in December 2010.
The company was recognized as one of the “Best Places to Launch a Career” (Sept. 2009) and one of the “Best Place to Start” an internship (Dec. 2009) by Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine.
Northwestern Mutual was ranked No. 26 by American College and Howard University in its 2011 listing of the 100 best employers for 2011 graduates in Diversity Employers magazine.
For the 15th consecutive year, Northwestern Mutual’s financial representative internship program is one of the top 10, according to the 2011 Vault Guide to Internships within the financial services industry.
Northwestern Mutual was ranked the “World’s Most Admired Company” in the life insurance industry, according to executives, directors and analysts worldwide responding to FORTUNE® magazine’s 2011 annual survey.

Consumers and career-seekers can contact a nearby Northwestern Mutual office by visiting: http://www.northwesternmutual.com/find-an-office.aspx.

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About Northwestern Mutual

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company – Milwaukee, WI (Northwestern Mutual) is the “World’s Most Admired Company” life insurance company in 2011 according to FORTUNE® magazine, has helped clients achieve financial security for more than 150 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.

¹ Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release - March 2011.” http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.htm