Hacker News Reader

You can work anywhere regardless of your/company's physical location as an F-1 student. The restriction is placed on the company's and position's type. The nature of the job must be related to your major, and the employment is subject to approval from USCIS in the form of CPT and/or OPT.

Source: http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/f-1-opt-optional-practic...

and I'm an F-1 student myself.

I want to use my time in America under a student visa to meet and interview with potential employers who would then sponsor me for the appropriate visa. The grad recruitment process in Australia is usually 6-9 months before you start, I assume it is also similar in the states

I'm pretty sure that the OP would be coming in on a J visa as an exchange. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-1_visa