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I have to ask; why oDesk? (or Elance or freelancer.com?)

I moonlight on Elance but I'm trying to build a solid portfolio to get away, and I think most decent remote workers do the same, mostly because projects posted on these websites are a race to the bottom.

I would say stay away; you're better of posting the position on the 'Who is hiring' thread here on HN, careers.stackoverflow etc.

If you insist on hiring developers from freelancing websites though, my personal opinion is:

1. Have a realistic budget. You get what you pay for. Yes, there are differences between countries, and not everyone needs to charge $100 an hour to make ends meet but when you're hiring a developer for $15 an hour (from anywhere in the world), you're taking a huge risk.

2. Don't bother with job posts, the signal to noise ratio is too low, especially when you specify a decent budget. Just search around for developers with solid portfolios. Don't pay too much attention to reviews, all it takes is one bad client who's not able to communicate to ruin your 5-star record.




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