Ultimately, people are hired to create an impact. People who can identify and communicate that impact are typically a step ahead of people who just do a skill. I always prefer the person who is less technically skilled but understands why and how they're making an impact. Better to have an B+ technical person working on the right problem, than to have an A+ technical person working on the wrong problem.
> They're all fake.
Sure, but they are semi-based in reality and give insight to the scope of your work.
* "Perfectly implemented [some feature] on [some project], resulting in perfect launch". Definitely an IC. Maybe not even senior.
* "Led organization-wide effort across 100+ engineers to migrate from X to Y". Might be an IC. Might be a manager. In either case, you don't do this type of work below senior level.
> They're all fake.
Sure, but they are semi-based in reality and give insight to the scope of your work.
* "Perfectly implemented [some feature] on [some project], resulting in perfect launch". Definitely an IC. Maybe not even senior.
* "Led organization-wide effort across 100+ engineers to migrate from X to Y". Might be an IC. Might be a manager. In either case, you don't do this type of work below senior level.