In my opinion the only way to use Odesk (or any other similar site) is to have a trusted client in mind that will post jobs there for you. That makes it easier

In my opinion the only way to use Odesk (or any other similar site) is to have a trusted client in mind that will post jobs there for you. That makes it easier to get paid internationally and was an option for me when I took my current position. I declined, however, as I like to keep things simple and so I don't want to add an additional step between me and my money ;-)