If you’re truly unhappy at your job, then the decision to quit and move on may seem like a simple one. But if you’ve only had that position at work for a matter of months, the decision to leave gets a bit harder. After all, a short stint at a company can leave a blemish on your resume and make it more challenging to land a job at your next interview.

The fact of the matter is short stints happen, and you shouldn’t let that stop you from finding new, better work. With that said, here are some tips for how to explain a short stint on your resume at your next job interview.

Firstly, be honest: According to Laura Mazzullo, a recruiter and owner of East Side Staffing, honesty goes a long way if you just weren’t happy in your role. Employers want authenticity, so explain why it is that you left and what you want out of your next role (without badmouthing your old job in the process). If you aren’t entirely honest, you might end up in another job you want out of immediately. 

Of course, there are other explanations as to why you may have left a job early.  Perhaps you left for personal reasons, in which case, you don’t have to tell the entirety of the story, just explain what you’re looking for in a prospective, new job. (Your interviewer will hopefully read between the lines.)

Now, here’s a scenario: what if the cause for your short stint was that you were fired? If that’s the case, it’s a bit trickier to explain. Don’t just tell them you were fired. Instead, Mazzullo says employers want to hear about the lesson you learned from the experience. And of course, if you have a resume with several short stints, consider it an opportunity to edit down your resume, particularly in situations where you may have lasted only a few weeks.