Still in school, intern makes serious money
01:00 AM EST on Sunday, November 25, 2007
By L.M. SIXELHouston Chronicle
HOUSTON — When Daisy Mendoza graduates next month, she’ll leave college with more than just a diploma.
She’s also launched a career selling insurance.
The 22-year-old University of Houston student got into the business through an internship with Northwestern Mutual.
At the start of the yearlong program, Mendoza studied and received her state insurance license and went out on sales calls with seasoned veterans. Before long she was pitching her family and friends, and has sold life and disability insurance policies to 24 clients.
Internships are an important way for college students to sample a career. Companies benefit by finding good new employees they can audition before making a job offer.
While internships have become commonplace, John Challenger said he hasn’t encountered many that look and feel like a real job, like Mendoza’s.
Interns usually spend more time observing and shadowing, said Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based firm that counsels job seekers.
However, he has noticed that more companies are realizing college students have skills they need and immediately put interns to work.
In some cases, Challenger said, there is little distinction between an internship and a job. And that’s not bad as long as the intern isn’t being exploited financially. After all, interns can pick up skills, adding to their rÉsumÉs, while investigating career opportunities.
Northwestern Mutual treats its 2,000 interns as independent contractors rather than employees, said Michael Van Grinsven, director of field recruitment for Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee. They work for commissions — at the same rate as the company’s regular representatives, who are also independent contractors.
The interns also can earn trips if they meet sales goals. Mendoza’s big junket was to Milwaukee this summer for the company’s annual meeting, which included performances by Sheryl Crow, Jerry Seinfeld and a speech by Colin Powell.
“It was really cool,” she said. Now she’s hoping she’ll land a spot on the trips to Cabo San Lucas and the Bahamas for top sales producers.
Mendoza recalled closing her first deal during her second week on the job — a life insurance policy to one of her classmates. Since then she’s sold policies to her uncles, aunts, neighbors, friends and friends of friends.
“Everyone is surprised I’m young,” she said. “But once I sit down, I quickly earn their respect because they realize I know what I’m talking about.”
Mendoza won’t say what she has earned, but Van Grinsven said it’s not unusual for interns to earn $3,000 to $7,000 during the 7- to 12-month program.
Carrying a full load as a finance and marketing major and selling insurance requires focus, Mendoza said.
On Monday and Wednesday, she attends four university classes and studies. She reserves the other days for appointments, with a goal of three per day.
Mendoza said she enjoys selling insurance.
“I’ve always wanted to own my own business, but I always thought I would work for someone first,” she said. “This gives me the opportunity to own my own business even before I cross the stage.”
The Northwestern Life internship offers real-world experience, teaching students how to handle rejection and how to ask someone to buy, which are valuable skills even if they don’t choose a career in sales, Van Grinsven said.
Two years ago, Northwestern Mutual decided to double the size of its internship program, which it started 40 years ago, because it had produced so many of the company’s top agents and managers, said Van Grinsven, a former intern himself.
Companywide, one out of eight agents is a former intern. But among its leading representatives, one out of five is a former intern, he said.
