New version of Sandberg book leans in to graduates

• %22Lean In For Graduates%22 hits bookstores in April
• New edition includes additional content geared toward college grads
• %22The energy around college campuses is exciting %u2014 it gives us hope for the future%2C%22 Sandberg says

SAN FRANCISCO — Call it Lean In, the sequel.

Lean In For Graduates, an updated version of Sheryl Sandberg's best-selling book on empowerment, is coming to bookstores in April, Facebook's chief operating officer told USA TODAY.

"It's wonderful (the book) sparked this amount of conversation," Sandberg said in a phone interview. "But even more important, because of this conversation, women and men are taking steps and changing their lives."

The new edition (fi

rst printing: 200,000) is the same core book that has sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide, but with additional content — a letter from Sandberg and six new chapters from experts on topics such as negotiating a first salary, best interview practices and "how millennial men can lean in."

The Lean In organization also plans a major promotion for most of the approximately 200 campuses in 17 countries with Lean In "circle" discussion groups.

Additionally, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns and others contributed personal stories.

"The energy around college campuses is exciting — it gives us hope for the future," Sandberg said. "We are harnessing the power of strong groups."

Denise Koessler, 27, leads a 25-member circle at the University of Tennessee, where she is a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering and computer science. "Our mission is to recruit, mentor and retain women (in our department)," she says. "Our numbers are stark" — just 6% of the undergraduate class in her department is female.

"I hope the new book will raise greater awareness of the Lean In movement among Asian-American students across U.S. campuses," says Mark Feng, who leads a circle of second-year Asian-American MBA students at Harvard Business School. "At Harvard, I found that when we share our career challenges in a safe environment, and getting people's honest and critical feedback, we are able to make better and bolder career decisions."

Lean In For Graduates (Knopf, $24.95) is the latest manifestation of a longtime effort by Sandberg to bring attention to a decades-long slog for women in top management in the USA. She has coordinated the launch of a website, LeanIn.org, and a think tank at nearby Stanford University to spread the word.

The book, though dotted with career advice, details why American business largely remains a man's game, and what women — and men — can do to change that mindset. Her mission transcends equal rights; she makes an economic argument, too. "We should use the talents of the full population," says Sandberg, who once said she leaves work at 5:30 to go home to see her kids.

The gambit might also signal the passing of a generational torch to a top-ranking executive at one of the most well-known companies in the world. Cultural trailblazer Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique as a homemaker 50 years ago.