I have the good fortune of attending the premiere conference for web designers and developers in the country - An Event Apart (this time in Austin). Some notes below from the keynote presentation from Jeffrey Zeldman. Titled "The Fault, Dear Brutus (or: Career Advice from a Cranky Old Man).

Our other jobs (before we became designers) give us perspective. Makes us thankful to be a designer. We are extremely lucky.
Work never sells itself. You have to be able to explain your design.
Never talk about aesthetics. Talk about the business problems you're solving.
Attitude trumps work I'm most companies (great work + bad attitude = fired).
In big companies, politics trumps work. Its not fair, its just how it is.
First impressions are forever.
We have met the enemy and he is us. We are the only thing standing between us and success.
You need a good portfolio. Use sites like Dribbble and Behance if necessary to make sure that some of the work you do can be shown.
Blog like nobody's reading. Blogging is how he ended up on stage today (inception joke).
Don't wait for someone to hand you the dream job/project. Take it. DIY (do it yourself).