Will an incorrect SF-50 jeopardize your selection for a government position?

Answer 1

Great question and congrats on your pursuit back into federal service - the only recession proof job force!

If there was one message to send to readers, it would be: "don't count on the system to take care of your career." While I don't imply human resource staff are worthless, they are human and make honest mistakes, so please heed my words of advice. There is only one person interested in your career documentation, and that person is you!

However, you did not come to be to be chastised, you came for advice. But since I'm on my soapbox, I need to get one more thing off my chest and that is the importance of the SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action. Most don't realize how important that form is for their federal career. In a few words, it is the government equivalent of your social security number, so learn it, guard it, understand it, and don't give it to anyone you don't have to, even if he is a Saudi Prince offering a wire transfer via PayPal.

Regarding your question, I assume the position you're applying for is a non-competitive job for current feds or feds like you with reinstatement rights. As such, you need to prove your prior federal service and the SF-50 is the way you do it.

The block on your SF-50 of concern is Block 24, which identifies the nature of your appointment. This information is used to determine your rights during a reduction in force (RIF - how could it have a government name without an acronym to recall) and retention during your first year, if you are on probationary period, and your career status. Even though Block 24 is blank, it should not affect your selection since your current SF-50 validates your federal employment. But I recommend you get this corrected as soon possible upon your return to federal service.

The caveat is that you will have to prove your prior service. If your Official Personnel Folder (OPF) is in order then it should not be too difficult. If not, I hope you kept good records. However, if you're not good at record keeping, work with your local Human Resource office. If they are not able to help, I recommend you request a complete copy of your OPF by writing to: National Personnel Records Center, 111 Winnebago Street, St. Louis, MO 63118-4126. Once received, work with your HR office to make the appropriate corrections to your personnel records and start taking control of your career from this day on, always keeping a master copy of your OPF under your mattress.