Every now-and-then I get a little sliver of hope in my news feed. Something that allows me to step down from my sandbox for a few minutes and in exchange, does all of the talking for me.

Well, today is that day because it’s like the workplace gods sent the amazing researchers of Rutgers and Binghamton University to conduct an alarming study that revealed that underpaid CEOs tend to fire employees in order to increase their own pay. And of course, I dismiss it as gibberish because after all, CEOs can’t be that shortsighted and selfish right? Seriously, how convenient is this, find data that suggests that CEOs will steep so low as to fire some of their workers just so that they can take the extra cash to pay themselves? Sounds outlandish and flat-out evil doesn’t it? And then I read into the article further and I’ll be damn, this IS TRUE! And worse, the study compared data over a 22-year span but I’m confident that this has been going on even longer than that.

Toys:

So, what are the purchases of someone that makes on average, 271 times more than the average worker? A Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Private Jet…or perhaps a luxury yacht. Wrong, they likely already have those toys—how about a faster Ferrari, a newer Lamborghini, another private jet, and yes, a bigger yacht. And all they have to do is send hundreds or thousands of us “regular folk” home with pink slips to get it? Well, as the data suggests, in the eyes of these “underpaid CEOs,” your unemployment is nothing more than bigger, faster and shinier toys for them.

Oh, Please:

And before you start getting all self-righteous on me, let’s take a step back and analyze the concept of an “underpaid CEO.” For starters, an “underpaid CEO” isn’t the same as an underpaid YOU because based on the data, CEOs at the largest U.S. firms make about 271 times more than the average worker. Perhaps a visual would help you better understand the magnitude of 271 times more pay than the average worker:

Excuses, excuses:

In the face of all of this incriminating information, there’s only one question that remains for you, “Why are you so hesitant to do what it takes to get a more fulfilling career with better pay?” If I were to throw out some more questions I would ask, “Don’t you want better for your family?” “Don’t you want better for your career?” “What lame excuse has you waiting to dust off your resume?”

Oh, I’m sorry, can you please speak up? Excuse me, what was that? Oh, I can’t hear you from the loud roar of the CEO’s new Ferrari 488 GTB screeching by as you…wait. As you wait patiently for your manager to finally “make things right” by paying you what you deserve after all of the years of hard work you’ve given them. Or maybe it’s too late and you already fell victim to the CEO’s greed so now you’re unemployed. So now you’re waiting for your cell phone screen to light-up from a recruiter’s phone call. Waiting. Sometimes. Sucks!

But ignore me and while you’re at it, ignore all of the data. And go ahead and ignore your dreams. Ignore your family. Keep on ignoring your bank account, your child’s college fund, your retirement account, your quality of life, that vacation you always wanted to take…and keep on waiting for the sky to open up nice and wide just for you.

Or you can do what I did—get sick and tired of waiting and take-action to update your resume. Your resume is usually the first step in getting the salary you deserve. I literally credit my resume with landing me three promotions in five years totaling a salary increase of 245%. If you’d like to build an awesome resume without paying a fortune or spending a month to do it, check out my resume resources and create an amazing, job-landing resume today.

Until next time, when it comes to needing the motivation to start preparing for an unexpected layoff from an unsatisfied CEO, as always, salary matters.