You probably have good reason to ask your boss for a raise. The longer you’re in your position, the more your responsibilities expand and grow. Additionally, with more experience, the quality of your work improves. However, as your contributions to the organization grow, your pay doesn’t always grow at the same rate.

While many companies provide cost-of-living increases, it’s not always a guarantee. In addition, these increases only keep up with rising costs; they don’t necessarily increase your buying power. This leaves you with two options.

You could look for a position elsewhere. This can be a valid choice to make if you don’t particularly care for your current position, don’t see the opportunity for advancement you want, or are interested in a new venture. However, if you’ve landed on an article about how to ask your boss for a raise, it’s more likely that you don’t mind your job so much and prefer to stay.

Your second choice is to ask for a pay raise. This can seem intimidating at first. After all, discussions about pay are not often encouraged in the workplace. Beyond that, asking for a pay increase can feel vulnerable. Still, beyond the perceived discomforts, there’s little true harm in doing so. Most organizations aren’t likely to offer you more pay for taking on more work, but they may be willing to consider it. However, if you want the best chance of success, you’ll need to build out a well-supported case to present your argument.