[Margaret Pilkington]

Although you may not have known exactly how much a lawyer earned, I am pretty sure that you knew that it was a decent amount, more than enough to make ends meet......not that I am saying that you chose Law as a profession because of the money.
Security is also an issue these days in a time of soaring unemployment....unless you choose a career wisely, one which will give you a decent amount of security(which I am pretty sure a career in Law will provide)....so I am also fairly sure you took that into consideration too......but sharing an opportunity to get a job is not a bad thing......it does not mean that the person who shares the information is not competitive, or that that person is lacking in ambition....especially as we are talking about a large company with more than one job being on offer.
In the job market, everyone needs a chance, a foot on the employment ladder......companies want people with experience, but how do you get that unless someone is prepared to give you a chance.........even though you have no experience??

I have been in the position of interviewing people for jobs within the caring profession....and sometimes I have given a chance to someone with no experience of caring (in the professional sense).......it has meant that someone who wants to care is given a chance. Not one of these people disappointed me.......they all rose to the challenge.

So while I don't think that opportunites should just be handed to people(and, by the way, what facts do you have to substantiate your claim that ' a great amount of people in this country think that opportunities should be handed to them'???) I do think that sometimes it pays to take a chance on someone with no proven ability, so that they can get experience of a work environment.
It is always easier to find a job when you are in a job.