F1 Associate Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

What You'll Do

Principal Financial Group is a Fortune 500 global leader in financial services focused in insurance, retirement, and asset management. We have 18,000 employees and 51 million customers around the world with over $714B in assets under management.

The Sales Development Program is a 9-18 month full-time salaried program within our US Life Insurance- Group Benefits division. This training program is focused on developing individuals for successful careers in sales. Our Associate Sales Representatives learn how to partner with brokers to provide customers with comprehensive insurance solutions. Our customers are owners of small to large businesses who want to provide competitive benefits for company employees and their families. When life gets unexpectedly tough, their employees rely on the insurance solutions (such as disability, accident, critical illness, and life) provided by Principal Financial.

Who we’re looking for:

• You want to make a difference in others’ lives.
• You are internally motivated to achieve your goals, persist through challenges, and reach personal success.
• You enjoy networking, meeting new people, and building relationships.
• You like to outperform the competition and win.

What to expect:

• You’ll start at one of our national training centers where you’ll gain in-depth knowledge of our business through intensive classroom-based study and opportunities to network and learn from senior sales leaders.
• Following this experience, you’ll be assigned a territory and get thorough on-the-job training with local sales leaders and mentors before gaining your own book of business toward the end of the 18-month program.

What you’ll gain:

• Learn to actively develop and implement sales strategies
• Mature your strategy and consulting abilities
• Build relationships with brokers
• Enhance your understanding of client care
• Grow skills in marketing
• Gain deep product knowledge
• We’ll also provide you with study time and educational materials to secure your insurance license.

How you’ll accelerate your career:

Your training and experiences during this program will be highly visible to US Life Insurance senior leaders. Upon successful completion of the program, this career path will be responsible for sales growth and market expansion for an assigned regional territory and your earning potential will shift to depend on the volume of successful sales you bring in. You’ll continue to receive professional development opportunities including conferences and training as part of our sales community.

Who You Are

• Bachelor's degree or 8 years of equivalent experience required at the time of hire
• Strong interest in a career in external sales
• Must have sales proficiency and positive relationship building skills
• Strong work ethic, self-starter, and accountable for own actions
• Adaptable to change as well as running multiple projects
• Life/Health License required within 90 days of hire
• Requires ability to work independently, excellent and persuasive written and oral communication skills, excellent presentation skills, and basic computer skills
• Willingness to travel within the identified territory as needed for this position

Preferred skills include:

• Awards or recognition from sales competitions
• Bilingual English/Spanish skills preferred but not required
• Outstanding extra-curricular, leadership, or community involvement

Salary Range Information
This position offers a competitive compensation package consisting of a base salary combined with incentive earnings. The base salary will provide financial stability, while the incentive component offers additional earning potential based on performance metrics.
Salary Range (Non-Exempt expressed as hourly; Exempt expressed as yearly)
$55000 - $55000 / hour
Time Off Program
Personal Time Off (PTO) is provided to hourly (non-exempt) employees and provides a set amount of accrued time earned each pay period. Employees can use their PTO for vacation, personal or short-term illness.
Pension Eligible
Yes

Location

This role can be located in Des Moines, IA; Minnetonka, MN; Denver, CO; Charlotte, NC; Nashville, TN; or Downers Grove, IL.

Work Authorization/Sponsorship

At this time, we're not considering candidates that need any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) now or in the future to work in the United States? This includes, but IS NOT LIMITED TO: F1-OPT, F1-CPT, H-1B, TN, L-1, J-1, etc. For additional information around work authorization needs please use the following links.

Nonimmigrant Workers and Green Card for Employment-Based Immigrants

Investment Code of Ethics

For Principal Global Investors positions, you’ll need to follow an Investment Code of Ethics related to personal and business conduct as well as personal trading activities for you and members of your household. These same requirements may also apply to other positions across the organization.

Experience Principal

At Principal, we value connecting on both a personal and professional level. Together, we’re imagining a more purpose-led future for financial services – and that starts with you. Our success depends on the unique experiences, backgrounds, and talents of our employees. And we support our employees the same way we support our customers: with comprehensive, competitive benefit offerings crafted to protect their physical, financial, and social well-being. Check out our careers site to learn more about our purpose, values and benefits.

Principal is an Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Posting Window
We will accept applications for 3 full days following the Original Posting Date, after which the posting may remain open or be removed based upon applications received. If we choose to post the job again, we will accept additional applications for at least 1 full day following the Most Recently Posted Date. Please submit applications in a timely manner as there is no guarantee the posting will be available beyond the applicable deadline.
Original Posting Date
9/3/2026
Most Recently Posted Date
9/3/2026
 

Principal uses artificial intelligence tools to assist in reviewing and evaluating job applications, fraud prevention, and candidate matching and comparisons. These AI tools support our human recruiters in the initial review process but do not make final hiring decisions without human involvement. By submitting your application, you acknowledge this use of AI in our recruitment process. Please review our Workforce (U.S.) Privacy Notice for more details on our practices and your data privacy rights.

LinkedIn Hashtag

#LI-BS1Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or 8 years of equivalent experience required at the time of hire
• Strong interest in a career in external sales
• Must have sales proficiency and positive relationship building skills
• Strong work ethic, self-starter, and accountable for own actions
• Adaptable to change as well as running multiple projects
• Life/Health License required within 90 days of hire
• Requires ability to work independently, excellent and persuasive written and oral communication skills, excellent presentation skills, and basic computer skills
• Willingness to travel within the identified territory as needed for this position

Preferred skills include:

• Awards or recognition from sales competitions
• Bilingual English/Spanish skills preferred but not required
• Outstanding extra-curricular, leadership, or community involvement

Education:UNAVAILABLEEmployment Type: FULL_TIME