How important are metrics actually?
For some context, I was unexpectedly let go from my employer after 15 years. I never kept an external record of successes. My work is in web marketing, which is a very metrics-driven profession. And although I can list out my responsibilities and their general overall business impact, I don't really have actual percentages or figures. I don't suppose I should just make them up, although I suppose I could?
Thus far, my resume uses terms like "sustained year-over-year growth", "substantial increase", and "ROI-positive" to suggest results as opposed to "20% increase" because frankly I don't recall if this is accurate. Do hiring managers care? Do the HR gatekeepers? I mean, anyone could make numbers up and there's no way to verify them with a previous employer, so is it realistic to even believe these numbers from a hiring perspective?
I would love any expert advice for talking around hard facts and figures when it comes to resume crafting.