Severance and unemployment, do they overlap? - 20 weeks in

I was offered severance of 17 weeks after being let go as a graphic designer and I am unsure how it affects benefits. I am in Baltimore, in case local advice matters. I also wonder about the job-search requirement. Did you file straight away?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 4 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.