Jobs at small Madison companies nobody posts about - any advice?

A friend who works at a local manufacturer says there are openings not advertised online. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. They like a brief email with a résumé. Should I visit in person?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It saved me later.