Only-Caramel1914's journey

I recently found myself in an interesting situation while job hunting. I was contacted by both a recruiter and the company itself for the same position. The role is appealing, but I have to decide whether to go through the agency, which would likely mean a contract position, or apply directly to the company for a full-time role. I definitely prefer the direct hire option since I would be leaving my current full-time job for this opportunity. Now, I'm wondering if I need to disclose to either party that I learned about the job from both sources. I've heard that if I let the recruiter present me, the company might not consider me since they already reached out directly. It's a bit of a dilemma!

I recently reached a breaking point at my current job, which has made me extremely unhappy. Over the last two weeks, I've decided to actively search for new roles while keeping my job search under wraps from my employer. I'm unsure about how to handle references in this situation, as I don't want my current company to know I'm looking elsewhere until I secure something new. I've seen some suggestions to list references anyway, but I'm still contemplating the best approach.