Does severance delay my unemployment claim? - 11 weeks in

I was offered severance of 5 weeks after being let go as a customer-service rep and I am unsure how it affects benefits. Thank you in advance. I also wonder about the job-search requirement. How did your state treat it?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 10 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.