I was fortunate, however, that the little book with the title that really seemed to resonate with people took on a life of its own. Thanks to those it reached—who ranged in age from 16 to 86—I was invited to speak at corporations, conferences, and universities around the country about career issues facing young employees. I was interviewed on radio and television, in print and on the Internet. I wrote for the Chicago Tribune, the Huffington Post, MSN, and Yahoo!, and, before I knew it, I’d given birth to a brand-new career as a twenty-something workplace expert. I’ve now had the privilege to write three additional business books and a Wall Street Journal column, and I am able to devote myself full-time to exploring how individual and workplace America can come together in a way that’s productive and meaningful for everyone. Despite what’s often a crazy schedule, I always try to keep one toe in the business world so that I can personally relate to the situations I write about.

The new edition of They Don’t Teach Corporate in College incorporates updated content that’s appropriate to the challenges and opportunities twenty-something employees are facing as we head toward the end of the 21st century’s first decade, such as social networking and blogging, entrepreneurship, and intergenerational workplace dynamics. Many of its original lessons, though, are intact, as, recession or no recession, some aspects of life in the business world haven’t changed any more in five years than they have in the 75 years since Dale Carnegie talked about getting people to cooperate and stopping worry in its tracks.

I couldn’t be more grateful to the early readers who thought my advice was sound enough to pass on, and I hope that those of you who are just discovering the book will enjoy it and will contact me with your valuable feedback and insights.