Should I really worry about how employers will view my claim that I authored modules if I use a handle?

Wouldn't you put your real name in the POD regardless of the PAUSE author ID? And if you did then what difference would it make what ID you had chosen?

You could have gone for the 'best of both worlds' by using your preferred handle as your CPAN ID but still registering your full name (like eg: MERLYN). But I'd say don't change it now. Move on to something that matters.