There’s no better way to get to know your new colleagues than when the newsflow is fast and furious

Starting any new job is a big moment. You walk in clutching your old P45, plaster on your best winning smile and hope you don’t set fire to the place in the first five minutes. I’ve been at The Independent for a grand total of 15 days now. That’s two entirely fire-free weeks. Well done to me.

Kicking off at Christmas in a busy newsroom brings its own particular seasonal joy.

In a lot of other jobs, whatever the time of year, the workload creeps up gently as you ease your way in. In late December, the flow of tasks tails off. It would be a gentle introduction. But I wandered through the newsroom door just as Theresa May’s government careered along like some frenetic end-of-the-pier ghost train, beset from all sides by jeering monsters of its own making.

It certainly gets the blood up. Back in a previous life, I arrived at financial newswire Reuters on the day that Lehman Brothers went bust and the 2008 financial crisis entered its darkest phase. At times like this you get to see the very best of your new colleagues in action as the newsroom becomes a place of feverish productivity. It was no different this time around.

I’m deputy editor of the Voices section. Our job is to bring readers powerful, measured, timely and thought-provoking commentary at a point in our history when it has rarely seemed more important. We have an extraordinary lineup of columnists who have built their reputations bringing new light to just such issues. When the news cycle bursts into mayhem mode, our email inboxes and phone lines are alive with ideas and commissions. It really is a case of all hands on deck: seasoned commentators, desk editors, freelance journalists – even the new bloke.

On Voices we also try to dig deeper. Part of our remit is to unearth new writers and other perspectives you may not read or hear elsewhere. And so I have found myself one minute hunting for an academic who could explain precisely why the Indonesia tsunami wasn’t spotted in time; the next minute taking a call from the activist who had taken Uber to court over working practices and won. Other new writers have explained Muslims’ relationship with Christmas, and expressed the frustration of a 14-year-old faced with Brexit.

It’s never completely plain sailing in a new job, but when the news is full and the takes are hot and fresh, it certainly smooths out the bumps. Long may it continue!

Yours,

Joel Dimmock​

Deputy editor, Independent Voices