I applied through university. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Northwestern Mutual (Newport Beach, CA) in Feb 2011
Interview
I was put in touch with NWM via a campus recruiter that showed up to a business department function. Initial contact was easy -- they gave me lots of information and set up an interview promptly. I went in for three different rounds of interviews covering different subjects. The first was behavioral/informational, where I learned about the company and they learned about me. Very generic. The second round required me to give a 5-min presentation/powerpoint on company history and what differentiated the company, in addition to my general "impressions." Again, not difficult. The third round was a review of work that I was tasked with. I had to interview 10 different people, 4+ of which were previously unknown/contacted through referrals. I had to sit down interview-style with these people and survey their impressions on the financial planning/insurance industry. I was also told that I would be able to honestly tell people that I wouldn't attempt to contact them or sell them something. After I returned for my round three interview and was offered the position, they had me go right back to my 10-person list and attempt to sell. I didn't take the position, but it was certainly a relatively painless process to get a "top 10" internship.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Contacting unknown people and getting them to answer questions about their finances.
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