College Financial Aid advisor Jodi Okun has 5 tips to help you find a job post-graduation.

Even though graduation may feel like a long way off for most college seniors, the truth is that many of these students will need at least that much time to find the job they want. The biggest mistake students can make is thinking they have plenty of time or that the jobs will come to them. In this economy in particular, you have to be extremely proactive and the earlier you start, the better your chances.

Following are 5 tips to keep in mind:

1. Before students can take any significant steps to advance their careers, they should first figure out what they want that career to be like, even if it's as vague as deciding on a particular industry or a type of business where they'd like to work.

2. For some students, the career center may seem like a depressing place to spend your free time, but as it gets closer and closer to graduation, you should get more acquainted with the resources it offers.

3. Landing the right internship can be an invaluable opportunity to find work after college, but it's far from the only opportunity. Students should think outside the box and be more entrepreneurial in their job search efforts.

4. College students should be aggressive in notifying friends, classmates, people you've worked with and even friends of your family that you are in the market for a job. Don't be afraid to leverage your parents' friends or even networks of professors who you have a relationship with for information and interviews.

5. While the turbulent labor market may add an extra obstacle for today's graduates, one upside to looking for work now is that new online tools have made it easier to manage the job hunting process. The key is to get as much information coming to you automatically as you can.

Even if you follow all of these steps, there is always the chance that you'll graduate without having a job lined up. A lot of students make the mistake of saying they would rather do nothing than take a job they don't want. Too many students hold out for the right job and suddenly a year passes by with no job. Consider it your first lesson in the job market: It's usually easier to find a job when you already have one.

_This article was originally published on College Financial Aid Advisors._