Behind glass doors in a sleek SoHo office, Carlos Hidalgo takes part in mock job interviews with big-name tech companies.

“I would say I’m nervous, but I did research beforehand. So I feel pretty okay with going in there having a conversation with them,” he said.

It was the final day of a digital marketing career lab, a partnership between the company Full Funnel Growth and Brooklyn’s MESA Charter High School.

While plenty of high schools try to expose their students to real-world careers, this program’s a little different: it’s for students who have already graduated.

Hidalgo is 24 years old, but was not surprised to get an e-mail about the opportunity from his old school.

“I think it’s been, what, seven years-ish? It doesn’t matter how long it’s been, they’ll find a way to communicate with you,” he said.

MESA co-founder Arthur Samuels said his school’s mission is not just to get kids to graduate, it’s to make sure they’re successful in life. But even as he saw students graduate and many head to college, he noticed alumni struggling to break into careers.

“The youth unemployment rate in New York City is almost 18%, which is 10 points higher than the national average. And yet, we also know that there is a worker shortage,” Samuels told NY1.

Samuels said many workforce development programs have empty seats, he believes because young people don’t see themselves as fits for the programs. That, he said, is where schools like his and others he is working with can step in, because they have relationships with alumni.

“We can reach out to young people into their families and say, Look, this is a real opportunity and you’re the type of person that they’re looking for here,” he said.

So he partnered with Full Funnel Growth to launch this training program, which is funded with a state grant.

It’s been a win-win for Full Funnel Growth, which built out a curriculum based in part on the company’s experience training its own workforce.

“I’m doing this because I care, but I also know it gives me a competitive advantage — being able to see who was the best student and hire them, be the first one to hire them, is a huge advantage for me,” Julio Casado, CEO of Full Funnel Growth, said.

For the young people involved, it’s been an opportunity to learn more about a popular career path.

“They have been really great at explaining marketing for us in a digestible way,” Gabriela Quinche said.

It’s been a way to learn more about themselves, too.

“I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do. So, I initially majored in psychology, but then ended up moving to media studies. With this internship, I found out that I’m really interested in this,” Natalie Aquino said.