Hiring through NY Helps

I am not a current NYS employee and have not taken any exams. I just applied for a couple jobs that are eligible for nys helps. Has anyone gotten hired through the nys helps program? If so how did the hiring process go and how long did it take? I believe at least two of my applications may have at least been looked at since I emails replying with “thank you”. Is there anyway to stand out more with out being on a list? Thanks for your time!