In your case your certs are going to be very necessary , HR people follow cookie cutter outlines for most positions and your certs will be your ticket to getting an interview with minimal to no experience,
To get experience fast, i would call some local computer shops, tell them about your certs and see if you can volunteer / contract for them on the weekends or on any big projects they might have. I did this all thru college and ended giving me alot of IT and Non-IT contacts , and like everyone says its not what you know its who you know. plus i got some nice hands on experience and got to deal with some advanced technology that my school didnt even have i.e. Cisco routers , ( above 2500's ) Voip phone systems, OS3/t1 connections ....
Hopefully this helps, and good luck ! !
