You seem to have no idea about what goes on in hiring.
If you expect human resources just to be a mail carrier for 10,000 résumés, you have no idea what is their purpose.
A busy manager can't be expected to read 500 résumés (common amount) to staff a new position. A company hires HR people to whittle that down to a manageable size.
Certifications help as well as "must have 5 years firewall experience on FW-1". If you can't be bothered to get a decent certification why should a company be bothered with you. It does imply that a company should know what certifications it wants. If they are looking for network personnel for their Cisco based networks, a CCIE means that the candidate has actually proved to someone that she has a clue. All the reams of words on a résumé don't show what others though of your work. It is not experience or certifications that counts, it is results.
Good certifications require more than just test taking skills. The Cisco CCIE requires real creativity and real knowledge. The SANS certs require a paper that is published on the web. An employer can look at the paper to determine whether you have a clue and you have writing skills, which are the most sought after skills for security professionals. A professional writes the spec, a techy implements it.

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