Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/1tj3c8e/i_was_hired_as_an_overnight_receptionist_and_now/

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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/SilentNeverMore on 2026-05-20 23:50:31+00:00.

I cannot believe how I got here. I don’t even know if I’m going to make it out. But I need to know that someone knew I was here. I need to know that I’ll be remembered, even if this place won’t remember me.

It started a few weeks ago. I was at home scrolling online, looking for job postings. With everything going on in the world, you don’t have to think too hard about why I was searching. The job market is a mess, and employers are still toting the “no one wants to work” motto. I wanted to work. Student loans and medical debt are trailing me wherever I go. No escaping that. So I went job hunting. I started applying for everything I found. Waitress, baby sitter, dishwasher, cashier, stocker; you name it I applied for it. Well, at least everything that would allow me to apply with a certificate for 3D arts. I couldn't even finish a full degree.

While I was searching, I came across this posting. It was from this senior living community in my city, maybe about a ten minute drive from where I lived. Pay was decent too, $19.50 an hour, full time, Tuesday night thru Saturday night, or Sunday morning I guess, the wording seemed off but I was desperate. Overnight receptionist wanted. Skimming the requirements, I thought it was a long shot. It was wanting someone with any kind of degree and they preferred bilingual people. But everything else I was great at. I’ve worked in retail and customer facing roles since I was old enough to be hired. And I’ve worked at the front desk for places before as well. I thought I’d give it a go. So I did, and got back to hunting.

It wasn’t until I got an email about the posting that I even remembered that I had applied. The email came from the community’s hiring manager, and it held a link for continued questioning. It felt off, but with how much technology is advancing and relying on AI, I just thought that maybe they were too. Following the link led me to this virtual interview thing. I was given questions and I had to record myself answering. It was typical stuff like why do you want to work for us, do you believe in our goals and beliefs. Normal everyday interview questions with full automation. No more than an hour after sending in the virtual interview did I get the email saying I was hired. I would be given links for training videos, an appointment time to do a drug test, and a log in so I could clock in and out for watching the videos. My first day would be that following Tuesday night. Three days away.

The drug test came first. I had a premade appointment with a clinic of the companies choosing, and just had to show up. The clinic knew what company I was there for, I guess they do all of the drug testing for them. That, or I gave too much information when I checked in. Either way, I remember the lady at the desk gave me a look of pity when I went to fill out paperwork. Like, she knew something I didn’t but wouldn’t tell me. I wish I had known why. But I had been so swept up in the excitement of finally getting hired I didn’t think much of it until now. After I was done at the clinic, I went home and logged in to start the training videos since I was starting in three days.

The videos had that old corporate feel to them. The ones that had people pretending on camera to act out scenarios, or do dramatic re-enactments of seniors with dementia getting angry at a care giver. The whole time it felt like I was watching relics of the past, not updated information. I learned more about the community I was going to be working at, for privacy sake I’m calling it WG. WG had been around since 1999, and was founded as part of a larger group of communities around the eastern seaboard. Seemed pretty normal at the time. Nothing stood out to me. Sitting here I remember there was one video that kept buffering around a part that kept talking about how WG had the highest rated memory care experience, but it buffered and repeated “memory” over and over until I had decided to give it a rest and start the video again the next day.

I finished the other videos with no problem. I had a whole day to spend just relaxing and mentally preparing myself for going in. So I did what any sane person would do; I practiced a phone greeting in the mirror. It’s crazy sounding, but I had been answering phones for other places, I didn’t want to trip up and say the wrong place. When I was confident in that, I spent some time shopping for a few new blouses. One of the emails I had gotten said the dress code for the receptionist role was black or khaki slacks, a WG polo or other dress shirt (button ups, polos, blouses, those kinds of things). I had a few, but wanted to get a few new things so I had a little bit of variation, even though my shifts were going to be from 11pm at night to 7am the next day. I was still meant to be the first face someone saw when arriving at WG.

While I was out shopping, I got a text message from a number I did not recognize. The text was extremely formal and professional. I almost ignored it. I changed the name of who texted me. I can’t risk them being found again.

“Hello, this is Laura from WG. I will be your mentor for onboarding. Please bring your documents and a notebook. I will see you at 11pm.”

So Laura was meant to train me in person tomorrow. The entire time since I got accepted had been automated or through some outside company. I was excited and nervous. I had so many questions at the time. How long would she be training me? Was this just another automated message and Laura was actually some AI program the company used?

I got my sleep schedule fixed for doing overnights, and when Tuesday night came around, I was greeted by a person. The entrance for the place was really nice. There was an awning over the loading area for the entrance. Sliding doors that led to a vestibule that had a second sliding door that was locked. Laura had to let me inside.

“Welcome. I’m Laura. Did you bring the documents I asked you about?” Laura got right to it. Her hair was drawn back into one of those loose half up ponytails, black slacks, and she had this bright yellow blouse with a grey cardigan over it. It reminded me of the sun coming out after a storm. How I wish I knew then that she was warning me of the approaching storm I’m facing now.

I cleared my throat, “Yes, I did.” I handed them over and walked with her to the desk. The lights in the main lobby had been lowered, and Laura explained to me that the interior doors locked at 8pm when the sun went down. They stayed locked until 7am the next morning when the day staff would arrive. She told me this was to make sure no bad actors got inside.

“While I get your documents scanned in, would you please put your name on your name tag? The label maker is in the bottom drawer.” Laura asked me once we sat at the desk. I did as instructed, and put my name. Silent. After that, everything was pretty standard. Laura showed me how to access the cameras, access Microsoft Teams for our phone system, showed me what doors are locked and where deliveries came to.

At first I didn’t have questions. The overnight shift was pretty much there to make sure Care Staff did their jobs, answer stray phone calls at night, and accept the odd delivery every once in a while while doing rounds of the main building every few hours. It was around 1am that Laura showed me how to do the rounds, and introduced the “checklist”. She never handed it to me directly, but showed me where to find it when I was by myself.

“Whenever you leave to do these rounds, always make sure that you grab the cell phone, the walkie, and the master keys. The door code is hidden under the keyboard. For tonight, I’m going to walk you through and show you. Tomorrow, I’ll have you do the whole thing.” Laura said, showing me where to find the aforementioned items. Near the time clock, at the desk, and under the desk. Pretty simple. Laura made sure that I held nothing tonight, showing me the best route and how to check the doors without waking anyone.

“Now, whenever you leave the desk for any reason, you NEED to bring these items with you. If you realize halfway down the hall you forgot something, don’t go back and get it.” I didn’t think about it at the time, but sitting here I know why she said that. I had given her an inquisitive look when she first said that, and I remember her face changed from neutral to scared.

“WG wants us to report rounds within a certain timeframe. Backtracking can make that time go over, and they prefer the shorter times. Longer times typically mean problems that the directors don’t want to deal with,” she explained. I took it at face value. A company wants to report efficiency over quality at times. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before. From there, we walked the floors of the building. The desk was on the second floor, so we had some weird route to follow to get to all the other external doors. Anytime we walked past a certain apartment, Laura would tell me about a memory she had of that resident. Mr. Smith would always whistle instead of sing at sing-alongs. Mrs. Harlow needed to be across the street in Memory Care, but her son wouldn’t sign the paperwork. She wandered the halls at night. But if there was whispering from her room, she was in bed for the night.

The 1am rounds were relatively quick. 20 minutes at most for the size of the building. When we got back to the desk, I noticed that there was a delivery driver standing at t...

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