Severance and unemployment, do they overlap? after 8 years as a sales associate

I was offered severance of 8 weeks after being let go as a sales associate and I am unsure how it affects benefits. I also wonder about the job-search requirement. Who should I ask before signing?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 8 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.