The recession has not been kind to many graduates but Rajeeb Dey has grabbed the opportunity with both hands. With graduate unemployment at a record high, his recruitment portal Enternships.com "has taken on a life of its own".

What Dey started at university three years ago as a listings service for companies posting placements was launched last May as a fully fledged recruitment site connecting start-ups and small businesses to students and graduates.

"Perversely, the recession has been good for us," says the Oxford graduate and former president of the Oxford Entrepreneurs society. "After graduating I realised there was no one-stop shop for these opportunities."

Dey wants to create a culture change among small employers. "They haven't had access to this talent because they don't have the budget or the time to do the milk rounds that corporates do. Therefore they haven't seen the benefit and value graduates can add," he says.

He also wants to shift the mindset of graduates who traditionally think of internships as being in big corporates, accountancy practices, banks or law firms. "Less than one per cent of students get those roles. But why not work in a fast-growing, dynamic start-up?" he says.

Dey has put £10,000 of his own money into the business. A couple of his friends made redundant from the City are helping him. "Right now, it's all favours so we'll see how it goes and what sort of roles emerge."

So far 1,500 applications have been processed and 1,000 companies have signed up. Dey's idea is to build critical mass and brand awareness before charging listing fees. "We want Enternships as a word and as a concept to be global from the outset," he explains. "It will start a bit like Twitter where you need to get people using the site first and then start monetising."

Marketing has been through word of mouth, referrals and social media. "Social media has been great for us—our biggest thing has been Twitter," says Dey. "Even though we've targeted students and recent graduates we're finding the site is being used by career changers and people who have been made redundant."

He doesn't like to accept the status quo. "I know the common career move for Oxford graduates is to go down a corporate path in banking or consulting. I nearly did that but I couldn't see myself working for someone else," he says.

Dey was named "One to watch in 2010" by the networking group Courvoisier Future 500 and one of the UK's "rising stars of the business world" by Spectator Business magazine. "I don't know where I'll be in five years' time but I always come up with new ideas," he adds.