Hey, I can entirely empathise with the disappointment of interview anxiety leading to rejection when you know you could have performed better (don't worry during my second year MC VS interview I ended up fumbling my way through quite a few questions in ways I certainly hadn't planned!)
Sorry for the list - as some of these things are possibly pretty personal to me I tried to include everything I have thought through to see if any of them could be applicable to yourself!
I try to re-conceptualise the interview (know this sounds a bit high concept - what I mean is basically I try and see it as as a conversation as much as I possibly can (this is hard if you have quite clinical interviewers). The experience from my job as a legal admin in my year out and interview experience for that role really made me realise that I perform at my best in an interview when I try and put less pressure on myself to actually get the role, just see it as good interview experience, and even better if I get it. I know this is exceptionally hard to put into practice, but I guess I focused on myself, realised I would get a role or wouldn't on authenticity, and tried to approach interviews being myself.
The age-old tip of a glass of water always helps to be able to sip if you're having a momentary panic!
I found doing the interview online actually a little easier as it meant I was at home with a candle, my dog to have hugged 5 minutes before, and I didn't induce more anxiety in myself from being in the office itself. I know that's also obviously something that is different when in person, but I think it's sometimes easier to see HR and Partners as someone you're just having a chat with when they're equally just a box on your laptop than when you're in a room in their fancy office.
I also think I found it easier having not done a VS with the firm I was successful with as it meant I wasn't too attached to the firm (I obviously really wanted it, but I hadn't met many people who worked there and grown attached to the firm or had had time to envisage myself there), I didn't know what I would have been losing out on. This is obviously difficult to avoid with firms who only recruit from VS's.
Genuinely the Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness Competition was incredibly helpful as it was on the spot questioning that was the thing I was always anxious about, and the practice of this was immensely helpful and reassuring.
Also, and many people would argue against me on this point for very valid reasons, but I don't rehearse answers, I don't come up with how I'll say something in the shower, I don't do practice interviews (yes this could arguably be why some might believe I've been unsuccessful in the past!) - instead I draw little diagrams, flow charts, and do some mind maps with all the ideas written down and listed. So for the firm I interviewed with I had 6 reasons 'why law', 6 reasons 'why the firm' and did the same for 'why me' etc, as I knew these questions were the ones I fell down on. I find rehearsing means I either sound 1) clinical, or 2) become more anxious when I forget what I'm meant to say because I'm anxious
Sorry, that was so so so long, I can only hope any of that might be remotely applicable to you, the anxiety was the hardest thing for me to overcome and I think a large part of why it was diminished in the interview the other week was because I knew I had other vac schemes in the future already lined up if it were a rejection so it allowed for there to be less pressure on the interview. I think when it's you're 'only chance' your brain will always be far more anxious no matter how much prep you've done, or how many meditation exercises you try. Wishing you lots of luck before your next interview, fingers crossed for you!! If you ever have anything you want to talk about regarding this please feel free to message me!
