“Hearing the word ‘no’” has been one of the most important aspects of Anthony Williams’s experience at Northwestern Mutual. As a financial representative intern, he has come to understand that rejection is often more situational than personal. Anthony joined Bold TV along with Michael Van Grinsven, Northwestern Mutual’s internship program director, to discuss lessons learned and more from Northwestern’s program, that’s been in existence for more than fifty years.
Since 1967 the program has kickstarted thousands of careers by providing a bridge between campus life and the financial industry. In fact, one out of every three college seniors at Northwestern Mutual translates their experience to a relevant career.
“The two-thirds that do not make it a career become great clients and great advocates for us,” Michael said.
Beyond career transition, the Northwestern Mutual program provides students with life lessons and transferrable skills, Michael said.
He added:
“They learned so much about themselves and then they learned lot about the business, and that combination really gave them an entree into more opportunities and better opportunities than they would have had otherwise.”
When selecting interns, Northwestern seeks out those who have overcome obstacles in the past. Students who “have had to work hard to get to the next level” demonstrate to Michael and his colleagues that they can handle the challenges associated with working in finance.
Anthony is a self-dubbed “anomaly” — he has been in Northwestern’s program for three years. He spoke about the internship’s ability to introduce him to entrepreneurship. Because the program pays for credentialing, Anthony has been able to obtain investment and insurance licensing. He is now working on earning a license as a Certified Financial Planner.
Northwestern Mutual has a rolling enrollment. If you are interested, you can apply at any point here.
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