Matt, a Spanish and Politics student, tells us how he turned his love for podcasts into a role behind the mic. In the summer between his third and fourth year of studying Spanish and Politics, Matt O’Malley got to experience the ‘other side’ of the headphones as producer and host of Multi Story Edinburgh, a podcast by the University’s Development and Alumni department. Each episode of Multi Story Edinburgh is a snapshot of life as a new graduate. As the host of season six, Matt spoke to five recent graduates from the Class of 2024 about the ins and outs of post-graduation life. Spotting the opportunity and landing the roleMatt discovered the University’s summer internships in the second year of his undergraduate degree, but felt it wasn't the right time for him to apply. He decided to wait and knew to keep his eyes out for emails from the internship team the following year. An avid listener of anything podcasts, he jumped at the opportunity when the email from Employ.ed finally hit his inbox during his third year. Talking about the application process, Matt explains that he submitted his application in March after tweaking his CV and crafting a cover letter: “Not long after that, I heard that my application had been successful, and I was invited for an interview. I was then tasked with planning a hypothetical episode of the podcast and recording a short audio demo.” And what did the job actually involve? A lot more than just talking into a microphone, Matt quickly realised. Even though there was already a format to work with from previous seasons, the podcasting team was keen to explore new ideas for the format, style and marketing strategy. Matt hosted season 6 of the Multi Story Edinburgh podcast “Over the three months, my work evolved from generating ideas and researching the podcast niche to recruiting guests and handling the technical aspects of recording and editing — safe to say quite varied! The opportunity to take on something and make it my own, while adhering to a brief, was both the most exciting and challenging part.” Completing The Edinburgh Award as part of your internshipThe Employ.ed summer internships not only offer students practical work experiences, but also the chance to participate in the Edinburgh Award, a skills development programme designed to help students develop personal and professional skills through extracurricular activity. “The Edinburgh Award involved three sessions organised by the fantastic Employ.ed team. The sessions marked the beginning, middle, and end of the internship. The award got me thinking more actively about what I wanted to get out of the whole experience and was also a great opportunity to connect with others who were also participating in the programme,” Matt explains. Diving into audio production and podcasting, Matt really valued having access to high-grade equipment that he wouldn’t necessarily have access to otherwise: "It was tremendously fun to learn and use this equipment to create the episodes."Alongside the tech skills gained throughout the internship, Matt reveals that the Edinburgh Award also helped him build skills in lots of areas. He developed his planning and organisational skills - which is already coming in handy in his final year of his studies - and particularly highlights how the entire experience allowed him to “understand communication as a skill.”“Of course, on-the-mic interview communication is one thing, but the everyday communication that made up the rest of the week was just as important. Developing this skill during the internship continues to help me every day in university life,“ he adds.Embrace new experiences For the first time since moving to Edinburgh, Matt spent the entire summer in the Scottish capital. From beach trips in Portobello to climbing Blackford Hill and catching spontaneous Fringe shows, he soaked it all in: "I particularly enjoyed seeing Edinburgh in June and July when the city has some respite from us students and the masses that arrive to experience the festivals."Beyond exploring the city, Matt's best memories from the summer include the enriching conversations with guests on the podcast. Through these discussions and his own internship experience, he now feels better equipped for - and more relaxed about - life after graduation. His advice? Approach your job search with an open mind. “Don’t stress over landing the 'golden ticket' internship. All internships are great ways to gain insight into areas that interest you, or that you think might interest you. All you can ask for is to feel like you've taken a step forward towards where you want to be by the end of your experience - and discovering that something you thought you would like isn’t for you is also progress!” Listen to season six of Multi Story Edinburgh with Matt Find out more about Employ.ed on Campus internships Are you interested in studying with us?Choose from a wide range of single and joint honours degrees spanning 16 subjects across literatures, languages and cultures, including one of the widest range of languages of any UK university, from Arabic to Scottish Gaelic. Based in the first UNESCO City of Literature, we are also home to the oldest department of English Literature in the UK and the oldest Celtic department in Scotland. Find out more about our undergraduate degrees Tags Life at LLC Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies European Languages and Cultures Undergraduate Publication date 14 Mar, 2025
