How we hire
What to expect when applying for a job at Principal
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Phase 1: Explore and apply
Find your match.
As you begin to explore new career opportunities, reflect on both what you’re looking for and what you
bring to the table.
Think through questions like:
What are my professional strengths?
What new knowledge and skills do I want to gain at work?
Do I prefer working in a leadership, team, or independent role?
After this, we encourage you to learn more about Principal. Explore our company website and this
career site to gain understanding of who we are, what we do, and what part of the company seems like a
good match for you.
Next, search for roles that best suit your skills, goals, and career interests. You can view openings
by job categories, location, position type, remote, or search by keyword.
Submit your resume and application.
Once you’ve identified a role, carefully read the job description. Ensure the skills and experience
included in your resume align with the job description and requirements. Include in your resume data or
unique differentiators, such as objectives and key results for projects you managed or worked on, leadership
experience, or relevant coursework or extracurricular activities if limited experience.
Please note, while you can apply for multiple roles, our applicant tracking system only allows one resume
upload for all roles. Cover letters can be included as the first page of your resume, but they are not
required (and may or may not be considered).
If you were referred by an employee, check your email for an invitation with instructions for applying.
If you were not formally referred, you will have the opportunity to list someone as your referral as part
of your application.
Don’t see a role today? Join our talent
community to stay connected for new opportunities
and/or sign up for email job alerts.
Tips for the “in-between”
After you apply, our recruiters review all applications, and you should expect to hear from our team within
two weeks depending on the role or unless otherwise stated on the job description. Regardless of the outcome,
you will hear from our team.
Stay up to date on your application by
logging in to your candidate profile to see your status.
Check your email for any updates about your candidacy (even the spam folder).
Follow us on LinkedIn
and read our reviews on Glassdoor
Phase 2: Interview and evaluation
While the process may differ depending on the position, interviews are generally done through a combination
of methods including phone calls, virtual video chats, pre-recorded video and/or audio technology,
and in-person meetings. In terms of scheduling, you may receive a call or a text from the scheduling
team or self-scheduling via email, if available.
Pre-screen
Every application is reviewed by a recruiter. The recruiter identifies candidates to advance to an initial human resources interview. If you’re invited to the interview process, you can expect a traditional phone interview or an on-demand pre-recorded interview experience, in which you’ll listen to pre-recorded questions and on your own time record your answers via audio or video. You’ll also have an opportunity to learn more about the role.
Assessments
Depending on the role, you may be asked to complete an assessment on leadership, general employability,
coding, etc.
Interviews
The number of interviews can vary depending on the role and team. The process we follow at Principal is
structured interviewing. It combines practices like behavioral-based questions, interview panels, and clear alignment to job competencies.
With our structured interviewing approach, the hiring team determines the key competencies required for a job,
selects primarily behavioral questions, and decides how to evaluate candidates before conducting interviews to
minimize bias and ensure a consistent experience for all candidates.
Examples of behavioral questions:
Describe a time when you’ve worked effectively under pressure.
Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision. How did you approach it?
Describe a time when you had to create something new. What was your process?
A great way to approach structured interviewing is through the S.T.A.R. method. When answering behavioral
questions, be ready to share what, why and how.
What the situation or task was
What you personally did in the situation (your actions)
The results of your actions
Interview tips:
A job interview is a two-way street. Always remember that while we’re using the interview to decide if you’re the most qualified candidate for the job, you can also use the interview to decide if you see yourself here.
Take time to practice. Think of a few behavioral questions and the possible responses to them. Practice answering them with your friends or family or in the mirror.
Come prepared with questions. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about us, the team, and the role.
Phase 3: Decision/offer
After all interviews are completed, the interview team takes all the information, reviews it, and decides who is the most qualified candidate for the role. If you’re selected to join the team after interviewing, congratulations! Our recruiters will call you to discuss the details of your offer. Regardless of the outcome, you will hear from our team. If you’re not selected, we encourage you to stay in touch and explore any new opportunities that may be a good fit for you.
If you choose to accept the contingent offer, expect a background check as part of our pre-employment screening process. We’ll follow up with the details you need to prepare for your first day—and a start to a great career.
FAQs
Before applying
Yes. But please formally apply for any role you’re interested in to be considered. You can sign up to join our talent community for updates on career opportunities, recruiting events, and company news.
Recruitment fraud is a scheme that offers fictitious job opportunities to people. This type of fraud is normally done through online services such as bogus websites, social media, or through unsolicited emails claiming to be from Principal. These schemes often request recipients provide personal and financial information as well as request payment as part of the application process.
Principal will never ask for money during any stage of the employment application process. If you receive a communication (e.g., LinkedIn message, SMS text, personal email, etc.) asking for money or personal financial information, don’t engage or respond. Please contact us at abuse@principal.com and share any relevant details about the suspicious interaction. For more information on how to identify recruitment fraud, visit Current Fraud Alerts and Scams.
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, if at any stage of the employment application process you need a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, contact Human Resources at MyHR@principal.com or 1-866-524-6947.
Yes, you can apply for more than one role at a time, but please note our applicant tracking system only allows one resume upload within our platform for all roles. Therefore, we do recommend that you apply only for those roles that align with your experience and interests.
If you see a role that aligns with your experience and interests and you know a current Principal team member, they can refer you as a candidate for the role before you apply. Please note, for the referral to process, they must complete the referral steps first. You’ll receive an email with a link to the job posting. You must use the provided link and the same email address at which you received the email to create your candidate profile and apply for the role. If you weren’t formally referred, you’ll have the opportunity to list someone as your referral as part of your application.
We do offer roles that are remote. However, the ability to work fully remote is based on your proximity to specific office locations. Each job posting indicates whether a role offers in-office, hybrid (blending at least three office days in a typical workweek), or fully remote work arrangements. You can search by remote, which will show all positions able to be filled by a fully remote worker.
After applying
From careers.principal.com, click on the “View application status” button. You’ll be taken to our Application Tracking System sign-in page, where you can enter your username or email address. Click the continue button and you’ll see a link to reset your password.
From careers.principal.com, click on the “View application status” button. You’ll be taken to our Application Tracking System sign-in page, Once you log in, you can review your job seeker dashboard, which will display all positions you’ve applied to, along with the status of each one.
Yes, for some positions, relocation is available and will be discussed during the hiring process.
All Principal job offers are contingent upon the successful completion of our pre-employment screening process, which includes a background check. The background check is initiated after you’ve accepted your contingent job offer and is managed by our vendor, Business Information Group.
A drug test is not part of our pre-employment screening process.
Resumes can be updated at any time in our Application Tracking System by clicking on the “Update your profile” button and using the “Replace resume” button. You can only have one resume on file, so any resume upload will impact all current and future applications. If you’d like to include a cover letter to upload with your resume for consideration, you’ll need to combine your cover letter and resume within one document and reupload to your profile. Please include your cover letter as the first page of your resume.
Principal® is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and an E-Verify participant. All qualified
applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion or
religious creed, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry,
citizenship status, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information or characteristics,
sexual orientation, marital status, domestic partner status, military status, protected veteran status, or
any other characteristic protected by law. We also prohibit harassment on these bases.
Know your rights: Workplace discrimination is illegal (dol.gov)
If at any stage of the employment application process you need a reasonable accommodation due to a disability,
contact Human Resources at MyHR@principal.com or
1.866.524.6947. Read our employment policies for more information.
Principal will never ask for money during any stage of the employment application or hiring process.
If you're asked to send money or share personal financial information as part of next steps in the process,
do not engage or respond. Contact our Human Resources team at MyHR@principal.com or
1.866.524.6947, and your local law enforcement. For more information, review our recruitment fraud information.
You can find our U.S. workforce privacy notice here.