How do I identify transferable skills when changing careers?

Start by auditing your current experience rather than your job title. Write down specific accomplishments and the actions that produced them, then extract the underlying abilities. For example, managing a classroom means you can train adults, handle conflict, present complex information clearly, and track performance metrics. Those skills transfer directly to corporate training, project management, or sales roles. Then compare your extracted skills against job postings in your target field. Look for overlapping language and requirements. Talk to people already working in that field to understand which of your skills they actually value versus which ones you might be overestimating. LinkedIn job descriptions and informational interviews are your fastest tools for closing the gap between what you have and what employers want.