Because if you can or are willing to BS to make yourself look good, then you can or are willing to BS to make your manager look good.

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.

Your job isn’t to help the company make more money, it’s to convince people that you help the company make more money.

Your boss / hiring manager / everyone else has the same job.