The Principal Financial Group Interview Questions

8 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (68%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.4
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (75%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

2.6
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (36%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

24%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at The Principal Financial Group

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Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Intern
Year 2023
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Credit
Location Des Moines
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
1st Year Analyst
Year 2021
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Generalist
Location Des Moines
Experience
Negative
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Real Estate
Location Des Moines
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
N/A
Year 2015
Job Title N/A
Group/Division Real Estate
Location Des Moines
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2012
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Operations
Location Des Moines
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2014
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Insurance
Location Des Moines
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Very Easy
1st Year Analyst
Year 2014
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Transportation
Location Des Moines
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Account Management
Location Des Moines
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy

Interview Questions & Answers - The Principal Financial Group Examples

Direct Lending Intern Interview - Credit

Anonymous interview candidate in Des Moines
Interviewed: September 2023
Date Submitted: Oct 19, 2023
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Other
Interview
Applied online and was then asked to record a video interview. Around 5 questions and some written questions asking about experience with python and excel. Then had a 2 on 1 interview followed by a "superday" with three interviews with two members of the team each one. Week later had a 1 on 1 interview with the MD. Mostly technical and fit questions on the financial statements and what to look for in a company when making loans.
Interview Questions
Looking at two financial models with the same historicals, but the return on equity in one of them is 15% but the other is 20%. What could be the reason why?
Sample Answer

Leadership Development Program Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Des Moines
Interviewed: January 2021
Date Submitted: Feb 21, 2021
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Applied online and heard back after a few weeks to a month. First round is a phone screen followed by a potential second round or super day.
Interview Questions
Why Principal and why the LDP?, Tell me about the qualities of leaders you look up to and tell me the qualities of leaders you know that were less successful.
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Real Estate

Anonymous interview candidate in Des Moines
Interviewed: March 2014
Date Submitted: Jan 10, 2016
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
I applied online and received an email to schedule a phone interview with a HR representative. Moved onto second stage and interviewed wtih four different people.
Interview Questions
A standard behavioral interview with HR respresentative. Why are you interested in working with us? Why do you have an interest in real estate? Describe a situation where you didn't see eye to eye with a co-worker. In the second stage, I receieved more real estate related questions regarding my previous projects as well as a few technical questions regarding real estate finance and valuation such as cap rates and IRR. Overall, nothing unexpected...just be prepared to explain your background and your interest.
Sample Answer

Real Estate Analyst Interview - Real Estate

Anonymous interview candidate in Des Moines
Interviewed: 2015
Date Submitted: Oct 09, 2015
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
I was contacted by HR to set up a phone interview. Did a phone interview with a member of HR that lasted about 30 minutes. Was contacted about a week later and notified that I would not be moving on in the process
Interview Questions
Tell me about a time you didn't agree with your boss and how you handled it
Tell me about a time you tried to get two parties to agree on something
The rest of the interviews were your general behavioral type questions. Pretty basic questions about background etc., but some stupid questions about tell me a situation where this happened and how you handled it.
Sample Answer

Product Associate Intern Interview - Operations

Anonymous employee in Des Moines
Interviewed: April 2012
Date Submitted: Aug 25, 2015
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
2-3 months
Application
Phone Interview
Group Interview
Interview
I applied online after talking with recruiters at a career fair. I had one phone interview, which was mainly questions about myself with a friendly HR rep, and then one group interview with 3 people. The group interview was harder, with a lot of behavioral questions about situations and how I handled them.
Interview Questions
Tell me about your specific experience and what did you learn?
What division would you want to work in the most?
Sample Answer

Financial Analyst I Interview - Insurance

Anonymous employee in Des Moines
Interviewed: July 2014
Date Submitted: Dec 15, 2014
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Applied online the day the job was posted. Was called back two weeks later for HR first round. Brought me in a week later for a 4 round interview. Pretty easy questions. No technicals.
Interview Questions
Tell me about a time when you were given a task and didn't know how to begin.

I said something about asking clarifying questions and thinking about how my work would ultimately be used.
Sample Answer

Fixed Income Analyst Interview - Transportation

Anonymous interview candidate in Des Moines
Interviewed: June 2014
Date Submitted: Dec 03, 2014
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Presentation
Background Check
Interview
I applied online. I had an initial phone interview with HR. Then I had a group phone interview with members of the team. Then I had to complete a case study. Then I presented the case study to different members of the team from senior level to recently hired. I was told that the process would take a week. It took me two weeks to hear back. I was asked for references and written material. Sadly the people who did my references took over a month to get back (I didn't know this at the time) and I was denied during the process. Usually this position requires work experience, but because of my internships, I was still able to go through the process. The people here tend to be very smart.
Interview Questions
Completing the case study was probably the most difficult thing. Answering questions about the comps and things of that nature.
Sample Answer

Derivative Interview - Account Management

Anonymous employee in Des Moines
Interviewed: 2014
Date Submitted: Aug 16, 2014
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Group Interview
Background Check
Interview
I applied for a position at PFG through my university's recruiting website. I received an email from HR about two weeks later about the position I applied for earlier. I responded saying that I was still interested. I got a phone call during class at around 11:00am from HR to schedule my first phone interview. The first interview was approximately 45 minutes long and was very structured. The recruiter had already prepared a list of questions, all behavioral (fit). My advice to future candidates is be outgoing and kind to match their personality. Few days after my first interview, I got an email saying that I received a second round phone interview (last round). That consisted of two back-to-back interviews with the managers from the department I was applying to. The last round interviews were structured the same way as the first phone interview and were pretty easy. Again, they were just behavioral questions. My advice here is prepare your responses thoroughly using the STAR method. A few days later, I received the offer.

Overall, the people in the office were very nice. People on my team were very eager to answer all my questions. Although the people were nice, the work culture wasn't what I wanted. At PFG, the work is very relaxed, a typical 9-5 job. If you desire a relaxed job where you can go home at a very early time, this could be a great fit for you.
Interview Questions
Could you tell us about a time you had to make a difficult decision, and what was your thought process through the entire decision?
Could you tell us about a time you had to learn something very complex, and how you went about doing it?
Sample Answer