To be honest, from my experience IT certifications don't bring much bang for the buck, but this probably depends on what kind of certification it is.

If you haven't had luck with applying for jobs, I'd suggest to think a bit outside the box. From my experience it helps if potential employers see you're passionate about something, whatever it is, even more so if it is in a relevant area.

A GitHub profile on that topic, (semi-) deep knowledge or something comparable helps quite a lot.

In our company we're primarily looking at, ordered in descending priority:

* is the applicant either senior or does she/he show credible interest in learning?

* is she/he a cultural fit (i.e. for our case, shows ownership, is able to express criticism and accept as well, is honest, ...)

* does she/he have enough emotional and intellectual capacity to adapt to a changing environment?