Many people feel uncomfortable talking to their bosses about whether they should get a pay raise. Follow these four pieces of advice to show your boss why you deserve more money for the work you do.

1. Toot Your Horn, Loudly

Most employees might think they have bosses watching over their shoulders at all times, but that's rarely true. In fact, your boss might not even know about half the things you do for the business.

While making a list of ways you have gone above and beyond your job description, consider times when you have:

• taken a leadership role, even if that only means introducing new hires to the company
• learned new skills, such as coding or network troubleshooting
• stayed late or worked from home so your team could finish a project on time
• developed a skill that no one else in the office has

Your boss might not realize you have done these things, which is why you need to toot your own horn to get the right attention.

2. Speak Confidently About Your Merits

It's important to sound confident when you ask for a raise. If you don't believe that you deserve more money, then your boss certainly won't believe it, either.

Even people who know they deserve raises can sound meek while talking to their bosses. Luckily, you don't have to feel confident to look and sound confident. Some steps toward looking more confident include:

• dressing well for the meeting
• getting regular exercise to look and feel your best
• taking deep, regular breaths before and during the interview to keep you calm and deliver more oxygen to your brain
• get enough sleep the night before your meeting

Some people will find this easier than others. If you know you struggle during meetings, then you need to prepare more so you can look confident, even if you feel like a ball of raw nerves.

3. Time the Conversation for Your Benefit

You don't want to grab your boss in the hallway to talk about a raise. Look for a good opportunity to sit down and discuss the issue. If your company has annual employee reviews, then you could ask about a raise then. If it doesn't, schedule a meeting during a low-stress time. You don't want to talk about raises when everyone in the office is working hard to meet an upcoming deadline.

4. Know the Market Trends for Your Industry

A person's pay often depends on several factors, such as how much education the position requires, how many people can do the job, and how much money the job makes for the employer. Of course, you can't figure out every detail to determine your job's ideal salary; however, you can use the Bureau of Labor Statistics website to find out how much other people in your position earn.

If you're earning less than other EMBA graduates in your area, then you can use this information to decide how much of a raise to ask for.

Have you used other techniques to successfully ask for a raise? Which have worked for you?