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Financial Internship Program Embraces College Rivalries
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By
Kyle Gisbrecht
17 August 2006
College rivalries aren’t just for sports anymore. While some students vie for championships in football or soccer, others are participating in friendly rivalries that seek to bolster their career opportunities. In fact, one nationally renowned company fosters college competition as a way to motivate its more than 1,500 interns while they test drive a career in financial services.
At Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, college rivalries are as deeply-rooted as client meetings, thanks to the company’s Financial Representative Internship program.
Named one of America’s Top Ten Internships by the Vault Guide to Internships, 2006 edition – a title it’s held for the past ten consecutive years – the internship program includes an annual inter-college competition that rivals any sports tournament out there.
College Teams & Competition
The year-long competition begins when Financial Representative Interns are combined together on college teams of at least three students representing their home universities. Teams from Arizona State to Syracuse and from Cal State to the University of Wisconsin, along with their colleagues from 200 other college teams, strive to outperform rival university teams on a variety of sales levels, including the amount of premium and number of insurance policies sold.
"College rivalries are an important part of our internship program," said Michael Van Grinsven, CLU, Northwestern Mutual’s Director of Field Recruitment and former intern. "They’re a great way to inspire, build strong teamwork skills and have fun as interns develop experience in financial services."
Ritzy Rivalry Recognition
Fun and rewarding career development is a theme at Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, and recognition of success is a major aspect of that theme. For financial representative interns, recognition really heats up during the College Awards Show held in Milwaukee each summer in conjunction with the company’s Annual Meeting.
Attended by nearly 1,900 interns, field leaders and company representatives, the swanky College Awards Show honors the year’s top school teams and individual performers onstage.
Amid the flurry of evening gowns and black ties and with all the excitement of a Hollywood red carpet extravaganza, the team from Brigham Young University was recognized as the top college team for 2006.
"It’s awesome that the company celebrates our success in an amazing setting like this," said Reese Harper, a financial representative intern and member of the BYU team. "The energy at the show was amazing – you could really feel the school pride in the room between all of the interns."
Harper and BYU’s 22 other Financial Representative Interns teamed up to help secure the futures of their clients. And with a nod to those all-important clients, Harper, also recognized as the number one intern overall, expressed his thanks to everyone who contributed to BYU’s success.
"The relationships we’re creating with clients are extremely rewarding and fulfilling," he said."It’s great to celebrate that aspect of our business at the College Awards Show."
Teaming Up
If a night of red carpets and tuxedos isn’t enough college team excitement, many local Northwestern Mutual Financial Network offices have taken team camaraderie to the next level.
The Bohannon Group, a Northwestern Mutual office in Eagan, Min., embraces the college team spirit with programs that build strong relationships and work to develop a deep team connection.
"The camaraderie this program builds and the excitement it fosters is incredible," said Managing Partner Tim Bohannon, who is also a former intern."With more than 40 interns in our office from as many as seven different campuses, it would be hard not to feel the energy and passion these students bring to our business."
That energy is clearly evident during the many activities Bohannon arranges for his college teams.From weekly development meetings and mentoring opportunities to team building activities like volleyball games or boating trips, the office encourages students to work together to build strong, productive relationships within the organization and with clients.
Their commitment to the internship program has paid off in that each year the program gains momentum. The Bohannon Group holds sight of the internship’s ultimate goal – for interns to experience a career in the financial services industry – and each year many of their interns decide to join the firm as full-time financial representatives after graduation.
"We’ve been passionate about the internship program for many years," said Bohannon."It’s no wonder that 50 to 60 percent of our fulltime financial representatives began their careers as interns or just out of college."
Winning Game Plan for Four Decades
As it nears its 40th Anniversary in 2007, Northwestern Mutual’s internship program boasts more than 20,000 alums and continues to grow each year.
"The purpose of our internship is to help students grow personally and professionally," said Van Grinsven."We believe that a successful program must be high-energy and highly motivating and we’ll continue to look for new ways, like our inter-college competition, to help students gain ‘real world experience’ in this career in a fun and supportive environment."
Northwestern Mutual Financial Network is the sales and marketing name for the distribution arm of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, Wis.
Top Ten College Intern Teams for 2006
1. Brigham Young University
2. St. Thomas – MN
3. Wisconsin – Eau Claire
4. Nebraska
5. Arizona State
6. Illinois – Urbana
7. Missouri – Columbia
8. Minnesota – Twin Cities
9. Louisville
10. Wisconsin – Whitewater
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I’d enjoy hearing from people who have had experiences with government internships.
Thanks, Debra Karplus, author