Don't count on anything until you get an official offer letter. Maybe you should keep interviewing until you don't hate it any more.

How far in the future is [specified date]? If it's tomorrow, then it seems like you have little reason to continue your search, seeing as a couple of days break from the job search will do little harm... if it's a couple of months from now, that's different.

It's nice to hear noises from the eggs, but: Don't count your chicken until they are hatched.

@JaredT Don't count on anything even after you've gotten the official offer letter... it's unlikely, but things CAN still change. Nothing's final until the ink's dry!

If they can't tell you by a specific date, then you're their plan B and they're still looking for plan A. They just want to make sure you're not actively interviewing elsewhere, otherwise that would have forced them to hire you right away and forget about their dream of finding another better candidate.

@heathenJesus: for that matter, in an "at will" jurisdiction nothing's final even once the ink is dry. The contract most likely just says how much severance you get, not that they're obliged to employ you until you choose to leave ;-)

Strictly speaking you can celebrate whenever you want.

Keep searching. You may find something even better, and you have nothing to lose.

Treat "most likely" as meaning "better than 50% chance" and choose your celebration accordingly.

"Most likely give you an offer"...."unofficial job offer". If by "unofficial" you mean "not" then yes. Congratulations! You have not got a job offer (yet)!

Keep searching. I celebrated after an answer like this, 2 months later I got a 'no' and was still unemployed.

Answers already tells that you shouldn't take it for granted, however they tend to focus on negative "they are using you as a backup if they don't find another" angle. There might also be other reasons. Maybe there is a formal deadline that they have to honour even if they aren't conducting interviews with additional candidates. Or maybe they don't k ow if the position will actually open or will it exist at all.

It’s always a good time to celebrate 🍸 But yup: until you get an actual offer, it’s safest to act as if the director e-mailed you and said “Sorry, but we’re officially rejecting you.”

It means you might be able to celebrate on or after [Specified Date].

It's not a done deal until the deals are all done

The only meaningful words in that message are can't say, rest is fluff and rubbish. This CEO also sounds like taking you for a bit of a ride. Why doesn't he just wait until [specified date] to contact you, if he can't say until then. Actually, I will answer that for you ... he wants to fish for better candidates until then, but wants you to hang around just in case nobody else comes along. This is a zero-risk game for him if you take the bait. If he does find someone better, he can just say, "Sorry, we won't make you an offer" and get away with no consequences.

Can you treat that as an unofficial offer? Sure, you can treat it as one, but an unofficial letter doesn't get you a job, not even an "unofficial" job, so it doesn't mean much. Feel free to celebrate though, celebrations are always good.

Huh? What is their purpose in telling you this? Seems like poor managerial practice to me.

You can most likely celebrate! Most likely means you are very close to get an offer, except if circumstances before [specified date] prevent it. These circumstances may include finding a better candidate though. Depending on how careful you are, you may to keep the champagne in the fridge for some time.

@immibis r/wholesomememes

"unofficial job offer" = "no job offer" Not that there won't eventually be one coming, but don't ever count on anything until you have it officially in writing.

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this is silly; the message literally says "most likely" and that you won't have a clear acceptance until [specified date]. The answer is in the question.