The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Northwestern Mutual (Boston, MA) in Jan 2010
Interview
I interned at the Boston office with the campus recruiter. The interview was highly informal and mainly consisted of "Tell me about yourself" questions. The woman who interviewed me just graduated from college (with a drama degree!) and I felt like she knew very little about what a financial services interview ought to consist of.
After interviewing with several middle-market and BB investment banks (and received offers from several), I thought the interviewing process at Northwestern Mutual belittled the interviewee's intelligence. The recruiter drew frequent analogies to retail stores and her experiences in retail. If wanted a job at the mall, I would have applied there. I was also uncomfortable with the fact she asked me for names of several friends and acquaintances whom she could contact in order to fill a summer internship class. The interviewer also failed miserably to follow-up after the experience.
Overall, I was not impressed with the company and the professional level of 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