Would a certificate program be a good way to strengthen my otherwise weak application?

[gnomechomsky22]

I just graduated in August with my B.S. in Psychology. I had a job lined up in Human Resources but it ultimately fell through. I've tried applying everywhere in my area (for example at banks for teller/collections positions, admin assistant positions, retail management, etc.) but I've had absolutely no luck.

I'm contemplating going to graduate school; I realize grad school is not something to be taken lightly and applied to on a whim. I have always planned to go for a PhD but I was hoping to gain some real world work experience prior to applying to grad school. I'm interested in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Human Factors Psychology I have internship/research experience but I have not yet taken the GRE and my GPA is not exactly strong at a 3.3 (I was pre-med until Junior year when I switched to Psychology so my Psych/Major GPA is higher at a 3.6). Any advice or input on what I can do? I've been looking for serving jobs/min wage jobs at this point, but I'm really tired of waiting tables and would prefer to find more valuable work experience even in an unrelated field.

I also have the option of pursuing a certificate in cognitive sciences and taking human factors or I/O electives to gain "education experience." Basically the program would allow me to get my foot in the door, take some graduate coursework, meet important graduate faculty and be a little bit more competitive when it comes to applying for a master's/PhD program. Certificate programs at my school are eligible for fin aid. The certificate is merely to prepare me for the PhD program and point me in the direction I need to go in-i.e. I will take all Human Factors electives to meet Human Factors faculty so that I can have significant and relevant letters of recommendation. But in the long run if I am only taking out loans for 2 semesters for the certificate and then able to obtain other forms of aid for graduate school then I can potentially reduce the amount of debt I would obtain through just applying to grad school now with a sub-par GPA and ok, but not necessarily great or significant faculty recommendations. Any ideas or input?

Note: I'm not going into this blind with no idea of what to expect. I have done the research about the requirements to get into grad school and I also attended the grad school fair at my college and spoke with professors/representatives. I did want to go to grad school eventually, just was hoping to pay down my undergrad loans first.

[watson]

A 3.3 is not terrible, but the fact that you didn't mention research experience seems to be a more glaring issue at the moment. Have you tried looking at jobs as a fulltime RA or lab manager? That would accomplish the same goal and pay you. You might have to leave your geographic area but the pay is usually enough to support yourself (hell, it is usually better than what the grad students make).