How do i prepare myself to become a successful contractor in odesk.com

Now a days, there are many options to earn money from online. One of the finest way to earn online is from different bidding sites. oDesk.com may be a good choice of you. They have two different type of users, contractor and client. I am writing this post from contractors point of view.

From my personal experience here are number of tips which surely help you to become successful.
Moreover, prepare yourself step by step before start bidding. Here are few steps of preparation.

1. oDesk.com have a readiness test which is mandatory for every contractor. Study their policy well take the exam as much as you need. From my experience if you read their policy (for every question they provide policy text) carefully then you can pass readiness test in 2nd or 3rd attempt. If you pass in 5th or 9th attempt odesk will never mind for that.
2. So you have completed readiness test and ready for bidding. This is the point where people actually do mistake. I am sorry to say, actually you are not ready for start bidding. You need to spent few more hours, even few days. Utilize next hours by browse oDesk category of works and think yourself which category best suite for you. This is very important and categories in which you found yourself experienced and more interested can be a good choice. So in this step you have to decide 3 or 4 categories in which you will bid regularly.
3. Prepare yourself for oDesk exam/test in those categories. Please note that, you can't retake any exam within 30 days once you appear for a test. So it's better to prepare yourself first by collecting exam syllabus, tips and tricks by oDesk and other experts. After that, study with those topics very well. Take help of google to study quick, you may search google by "odesk.com php questions(or any other exam name you intend to appear)". In this way you will get some questions, ideas and suggestions about that test. Study those questions and do some practice. Practice and practice until you are satisfied.
4. Now you are ready for exam. Without late start your exam and be very careful in answering questions because you can't get back to any question and can't quit an exam. Press 'Start' button means you can't retake this exam until 30 days is over.
5. After getting a good scores in 2-3 exams in oDesk.com you are now ready for 1/2 category of job. 
6. So you are ready for bidding? No. At this stage you have to create an excellent profile. While creating profile, never over estimate yourself, don't write what you are not actually. If possible write i have fair knowledge of ## where you think yourself expert of ##. In addition, create some portfolio if you have. If you don't have any project as portfolio item, do some sample project like "Member Registration Form", "Simple Inventory Management", "Member/Student Management" or anything(no matter how simple it is) and mention those in your portfolio item. Be careful and be honest always.
7. It's time for you to Start Bidding. In order to win first project in oDesk you have to be more and more passionate. You might need to bid 10-20 projects to win first one. Let me share my experience and a powerful tips to win first few projects. Read Job Description again and again until it's totally clear to you. Now try to prepare a small sample from whole job description. Specially try to do the critical/major section of project as sample. At least prepare a small portion of project for buyer to show so that he/she can become confident on you. On top of, ask questions to buyer as much as you need. But never ask any un-necessary questions.
8. Check email and notification in oDesk.com. Most of the times buyer will ask you questions or like to discuss with you. In time reply is another key to success.

Happy bidding and never forget "Honesty is the Best Policy".