You probably have a lot in common with your friends. Maybe you're around the same age, or maybe you work in similar fields. You might even share some personality traits.
One major CEO's advice to young people who want to grow their careers: Surround yourself with people who specifically don't fit that bill, too.
"Seek those that are different, the ones that may not align with all of the components of who you are," Nick Bailey, CEO of the international real estate company Re/Max, tells CNBC Make It. "Those relationships, those connections you make with those people could be good for your growth."
A 2008 study in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships conducted more than 300 lab and field investigations to find that people are often attracted to individuals who are similar to themselves in some way. They're also attracted to individuals who they perceive as similar to themselves, whether or not they actually are.
But you shouldn't follow that instinct blindly, says Bailey, who manages more than 600 employees across a company with a $477.15 million market cap, as of Thursday morning. He says you can actually benefit from connecting with people with different ages, jobs or personalities: They can share diverse roadmaps, strategies, experiences and fresh perspectives that can help further your professional growth.
Those people could help you expand your knowledge to different areas of business, identify new approaches to solving problems that you've never heard of before and open doors to atypical career opportunities for your line of work, he adds.
"If you're young, you can't just talk to the five people in your company or at event that just graduated from college, even though that might seem most comfortable," Bailey says. "Having those connections with people who are different can be extremely valuable to you."
Bailey offers up his own career as proof. At age 19, he started volunteering on the board of the Powell Valley Economic Development Alliance in Wyoming, where business leaders from different sectors worked together to find ways to strengthen the local economy.
There, he connected with plenty of executives, mid-level business leaders and small-business owners. He says he found particular value from people who were almost two or three times his age, with years of work experiences to draw on. Their stories and advice equipped him with new strategies for navigating his own career, he says.
Of course, approaching strangers and attempting to strike up relationships with them can be daunting. Bailey has two useful tips:
1. Put yourself out there
The first, he says, is to gather courage to put yourself out there. The worst thing someone can say is "no" to you — and more often than not, that doesn't happen, Bailey says.
That could mean attending a networking event for a job industry that's slightly different from yours or sending a cold email to the CEO of a company you've always admired. It could involve walking up to a well-known professional with more than 40 years of experience or a young entrepreneur who's making waves in their industry.
Most people are likely to be flattered when someone expresses interest in them and their work. Keep that in mind if you're ever feeling nervous about connecting with others.
"When you're willing to put yourself out there, you're going to be uncomfortable. Your stomach might be turning in the moment," Bailey says. "But when you do that, connections will fall into place. People will love seeing someone that has interest in them or something that they did."
2. Approach people genuinely
There's a big difference between people who network for the sake of networking and those who genuinely want to build relationships with other people. To become the latter, you'll have to show enough sincerity to earn someone's trust, Bailey says.
Don't be someone that's running around a network event shoving their business cards into everyone's faces, Bailey says. People won't take you seriously if you're not taking the time to get to know them. You also shouldn't ever make your conversations feel transactional, Bailey adds: Don't approach someone and immediately ask them to do something for you.
Instead, actively listen to them. Ask sincere questions about them and their career, communicate what you want to learn from them and share relevant information about yourself. People are more likely to do you favors — like giving you a job referral, or even hiring you themselves — if you take the time to build that trust and relationship first.
"Don't try to use people. People can sniff that out a mile away," Bailey says. "You have to be genuine. I've been amazed at how many people will offer to help you in some way if you establish a relationship and trust."
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