You’re young. You need a job. You’ve never had one and aren’t quite sure how to get one. Who hasn’t experienced the challenge of landing that first job and figuring out how to make themselves stand out amongst other candidates? It’s a challenge almost everyone faces. It’s particularly challenging for young people when they have no experience.

University of Nevada, Reno Extension’s Eric Killian, who is now the southern area director, identified this need in Clark County over 15 years ago and responded by developing the Career Edge Program, which helps Clark County High School students prepare to enter the workforce. It is now overseen by Extension Program Officer Willie Daughtery and led by Extension Program Officer Reshard Wilson.

“Career Edge has become more than a program,” Killian said. “It helps drive workforce development, strengthens communities and shapes the next generation of skilled professionals.”

Since 2018, Extension has partnered with Communities in Schools of Nevada, a nonprofit stay-in-school organization, to deliver the program to students in Clark County. During the 2025-2026 school year, the program was implemented in 11 high schools, reaching over 500 students.

The Career Edge Program does just what its name says. It gives youth an edge when they are entering the workforce. The program is delivered in classrooms for several weeks and teaches young people how to identify, develop and strengthen their soft and hard skills, including how to develop a resume, complete job applications, and prepare for and dress for interviews.

“Career Edge addresses a basic challenge for young people entering the workforce,” Wilson said. “You need experience to get a job, but it can be difficult to recognize the experience and skills you already have when you’ve never held a formal job.”

Wilson says the program helps young people recognize that babysitting, volunteering, helping a family member, participating in church or community activities, and other unpaid experiences can demonstrate skills and responsibilities that matter to an employer. The program teaches them how to identify those experiences and talk about them in an interview to show their value and how they can transfer them into the job for which they are applying.

“The most important thing I have learned is knowing how to describe myself with words that really put myself out there as a good, reliable person,” a past student at Canyon Springs High School said.

Throughout the program, participants not only develop a resume they can immediately use, but also practical knowledge they can use during a job search and experience they can implement from their mock interview. Wilson says that beyond the takeaways such as a resume, students gain confidence and self-awareness.

“Throughout the program, they gain an understanding of themselves, and through practice, they are more comfortable when they go to interview,” he said.

According to Wilson, the program doesn’t just teach them how to get a job; it teaches them how to be part of a team once they land it. Throughout the program, youth are engaged in activities to develop proficiency in leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making to help them thrive in the workplace.

“We introduce team-building aspects and talk to them about how to work together for one common goal,” he said. “Regardless of where you work, you have to work with others and deal with conflicts. We give them tools to deal with that.”

Another student at Rancho High School shared their success.

“I got my first job after going through the Career Edge Program,” a past participant from Rancho High School recently reported.

Wilson said that hearing about the success of these young people is meaningful and shows the importance of what we’re doing.

“A tear almost goes down my face when I hear from a teacher that a student just got their first job,” he said. "This is a job we’re tasked to do, but we’re blessed to do it.”

For more information about the program, email Wilson.